Life of the Pack : Integration
by loonie lupin
Summary: The Alphas Pack had come to Beacon Hills for a reason. Now it's time for Derek's pack to prove they can function together, to pass their tests because if they fail, the consequences will be terrible.
1. Prologue

**Title: **Life of the Pack – Integration

**Chapter**: prologue/12 (+epilogue) for this part

**Author: **lisapahud (loonie_lupin)

**Fandom: **Teen Wolf

**Characters/pairing** : Derek/Stiles, Scott/Allison, Lydia/Jackson for this part

**Rating: **PG

**Summary: **The Alphas Pack had come to Beacon Hills for a reason. Now it's time for Derek's pack to prove they can function together, to pass their tests because if they fail, the consequences will be terrible.

**Note : **Well, I've managed to finish this story by mid-May, as I had planned. As for the first part, I've got to reread through it before posting chapters, so there may be a day or two in between chapters, but I'll do the best I can.

As for the first story, most of it is told from Stiles POV, but there a few scenes that are from other characters' POV. I hope it won't throw anyone off...

**Disclaimer: **none of the characters belong to me. They are the property of their creators

* * *

**Life of the Pack – integration**

Prologue

_Chris was waiting impatiently for his friend to show up. He had just arrived home from school and found the house completely empty, which was why he had immediately phoned Peter, knowing that, with his speed, he had already reached his own house, and asked him to come by for a while. They didn't exactly have an infinite amount of occasions to fraternize outside of school, as it would be too dangerous if his father ever got wind of it, but since the man had left a note, informing his son he was out of town for a few day, and his sister was having a sleepover at a friend's, he wanted to make sure to seize the occasion._

_He was startled out of his musing when he saw a pair of feet entering his field of vision and sent Peter a glare._

_"You could have used the door! I told you there was no one else here but me," Chris chided, rolling his eyes in exasperation at the boy's antics._

_"What can I say, it's a habit," Peter said, smirking. "Besides, you left your window wide open. How could I not take that as an invitation?"_

_Peter sat down on the chair at the desk, easily, as if he was in his own home. Chris had never been able to understand the way the other boy had always managed to appear right at his place in the Argent house. He shouldn't have. He should have been tiptoeing around, afraid of being caught. He was a werewolf after all, and in a house full hunters. Now, of course, Chris wouldn't do anything against him and Kate was way too young to be a real threat for a born teenage werewolf, even if she showed an uncanny aptitude for the job, but Gerard was a real menace, one that Peter didn't seem all that afraid of._

_"So, you have the house all to yourself for the week-end and the very first thing you do is call little old me," Peter said, ruffling distractedly through the books thrown in a mess on the desk. "I feel honored."_

_He winked with a leer. That was Peter alright, always flirting with everyone. Of course, Chris was perfectly aware he didn't mean anything by it, except that the werewolf seemed unable to last without making any innuendo, but it didn't really bother him. Besides, he was fairly sure that Peter would stop if he ever, seriously, asked him to. However, he usually preferred either ignoring him or playing along. It was a fun fame, as long as it stayed a game, and Peter didn't put any intent behind it._

_"Maybe I've just really missed having you all to myself. You should be worried," Chris answered, choosing the playing along option this time around. "Maybe, I've got something planned."_

_Peter chuckled, always appreciating when someone answered with a witty remark. It was funnier that way and he could usually count of Chris for it, which was one of the reasons they got along so well. It was just too bad they could have a normal friendship. _

_However, Peter's parents had told him all about Gerard Argent and his ways and, while they had absolutely no problem with Chris, they wanted Peter to show some caution around the elder Argent, knowing he was bound not to take too kindly on a werewolf sniffling around his son, no matter how innocently._

_"And what, exactly, is it that you've got planned?" Peter asked smoothly, getting up with all the grace of a feline – and Chris almost snorted out loud, knowing Peter wouldn't appreciate the comparison one bit – and stalking to Chris, where he was sitting cross-legged on his bed._

_He sank down at his side and looked at him leering._

_Chris smiled gently and his eyes twinkled as he let himself fall on his back, looking at his friend._

_"Tell me about your family life, about pack life," he asked softly, not for the first time._

_Peter's eyes softened. As always, he could always hear the longing in Chris' voice, the dream-like quality of the question, as he wanted to know what it was that made a pack, a sure sign that Gerard hadn't gotten a hold of his mind and brainwashed him into thinking that all werewolves were mindless beasts._

_No, every single times Chris inquired about the life of his pack, Peter could hear the genuine curiosity behind the words, he could almost feel his awe whenever Peter told him all about it, about what made it so special and he knew that it was Chris' way to escape the reality of his family life. Peter wasn't stupid and, sometimes, he could smell the hurt on Chris, smell the injuries on his body, never too deep because Gerard was way too careful for that. However, he knew about some of the things that went down in that house and it killed him not to be able to help his friend but even his parents knew there was nothing they could do._

_So Peter simply talked, spinning tales of a beautiful family life, of being free to chose his own path but still part of a whole, a cohesive unit, which members always protected each other and were protected in return and helped Chris escape for a few hours, giving him ways to dream about it._

_"I wish you could be part of the pack," Peter said gently, once he was finished talking, lying on his side, on the bed, his head supported by his elbow and looking at Chris whose eyes were closed._

_They weren't touching, but they were close enough that Chris could feel the warmth of Peter's body close by. He smiled at the words, mainly because he too wished it could be so, wished he could be part of that group. The Hales were wonderful people and he yearned to be accepted among them, far away from Gerard, but he knew it would never be possible._

_"If I were the Alpha, I would make you part of the pack and fuck your dad," Peter said, once again, more forcefully this time._

_"Yes," Chris said softly. "If my father wasn't there…"_

_Suddenly, the décor changed completely and Chris found himself armed, in front the burnt-down Hale house, the night Peter was killed. He saw the Alpha take his sister inside the house and the violence of the kill and then the beast – because Peter couldn't be considered a man anymore, not in this form, not when he had snapped – turned his head to him and his red eyes bored into him as he advanced menacingly and…_

Chris opened his eyes abruptly, a sob caught in his throat, which he made efforts to repress as he didn't want to wake his wife again. He found himself concentrating on the ceiling, tears he refused to let fall in his eyes, still shaken by the dream – no, the mix of memories, because he did remember that day, both these days he had just witnessed again. As he was trying to calm himself down, in the complete silence of his room, broken only by his uneven breathing, he perceived a small noise coming from the ground floor of the house.

Since Victoria was still sleeping soundly at his side, for which he was very grateful, he knew it had to be Allison, as the alarm would have sounded should an intruder have broken into the house. Chris glanced at the clock standing on his bed-table and saw it was almost three in the morning. He frowned, wondering what she was doing up at this hour of the night, and slipped soundlessly out of bed, jolting the mattress as little as possible. He padded out of the room and down the stairs, following the small noises to the kitchen where he saw his daughter making herself a cup of hot chocolate.

"Can't sleep?" he asked her and winced internally when she visibly startled, as he had thought she would have heard him come down and hadn't meant to frighten her.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, her had coming automatically to her chest, resting on her racing heart. "You scared me."

"Sorry," he apologized, getting a mug out of the kitchen cabinet for himself and Allison immediately started on another drink. "What's wrong?"

Allison shook her head.

"Nothing. Just feeling a bit restless, I guess. I'm fine dad, promise. What about you? Don't tell me I woke you up? I tried to make sure not to make too much noise."

He sighed as he didn't want to bother her with an account of his nightmares, especially considering the subject. He knew it was a bit stupid, but he didn't feel like telling his little girl that he had woken up, terrified, by a dream. Still, the little noises she had made wouldn't have stopped him from going straight back to sleep if his mind hadn't been much too wired, his heart trying to race out of his chest, the images of Peter's murderous glare still running behind his eyelids.

"Weird dream," he answered, opting for a half-truth. "I couldn't get back to sleep."

"What kind?" she asked, curious, as she had never known her dad to let his subconscious mind prevent him from getting the rest he needed.

"Just an old memory coming back," he told her, shaking his head to make her understand he didn't feel like talking about it right now and she let it drop, eyes going back to her chocolate.

Yes, just an old memory of a time when things had been easier, one of the memory which explained best why he had never really tried to stop his daughter from being part of the pack. After all, if she could have what he had, at her age, longed for, who was he to try and stop her? She deserved it.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1/12 (+epilogue)

_The day before_

Stiles was lying on his stomach, on top of the soft carpet decorating his boyfriend's living room, concentrating on the books in front of him, trying to find an appropriate way to discuss the aftereffects of the French revolution on neighboring countries. The rest of the pack was scattered all around the room, requisitioning tables and floors all over the open space of the den, which had become homework central since the kids all had their exams, which were coming up quickly, to think about. They were now thankfully only a few days away and, then, they would all be left to enjoy a well-deserved holiday. Stiles really couldn't wait.

Of course, since the end of the Gerard and Kanima fiasco, their problems appeared to have all but vanished. The town had been pretty quiet since then and that meant quite a few weeks of tranquility already. It didn't mean that they had time to relax fully, though, as they wouldn't be able to wind down completely until they didn't have to worry about their finals anymore, Still mused. And, quite frankly, they would use a rest.

Luckily, one of the advantages of their newfound closeness was that their study session had become way easier on everyone, as they motivated each other. For any of the subject, they had at least one person who was in the top of the class and could explain effortlessly the content to the rest of the pack, answering any question anyone may have on the material. Actually, most of their overall marks in all subjects had improved drastically since the beginning of their regular group study.

The only shadow on the horizon was the complete disappearance of Erica and Boyd. Of course, the two betas had told Derek they were living and their little stay in the basement of door, courtesy of Gerard Argent, had probably not done anything to help change their minds. If anything, it would probably just have encouraged them, proving it was way too dangerous a life for them. No one could blame them for that, which meant that none of the kids were particularly worried about the fact no one had seen them since.

The problem was that, even though they had warned Derek, they hadn't actually think about saying anything to their parents – or even left a note for them to find – which meant that, inevitably, the police had become involved. Since they had been seen with the pack during their last few days in Beacon Hills, as all high school could attest, the teenagers had been interrogate pretty intensely, without any result of course. Stiles understood that they hadn't taken to their new lifestyle well, but he couldn't help thinking they could have had the decency not to run out on their own families.

Unfortunately, the two adolescents hadn't been the only disappearances noticed. Gerard had made quite an impression on the town since his arrival, so it stood to reason people were wondering where he had gone. It had also left the school in quite a quandary, as they found themselves without a principal. Chris and Victoria had been most open with the officer who had come in interview them when the school board had reported him missing.

They had explained that Gerard had been called away by an old friend of his who had an interesting proposition for him. However, when he had told them he was leaving, they had been absolutely certain he had contacted the school to warn them. If they had known it hadn't been the case, they would have done it themselves. It was really a shame to have bothered the police for nothing.

No, they hadn't actually had any contact since he took off but, then again, it wasn't exactly anything unusual when it came to Gerard. The man showed up for a while and then disappeared again. They sometimes didn't even get a phone call for months on end. They could give the police his number, of course, but they should know that Gerard was a very avid hunter, as was the friend who had called, and sometimes they chose to stay in the woods, away from civilization and out of phone range.

Thankfully, after that interview, the officer had been convinced it was a simple misunderstanding and had gone against the decision of filling a missing person report, considering the whole family was affirmative that nothing was wrong. When Allison, who had assisted to the whole thing – adding her two cents here and there to bring validity to the tale – told them about it, Stiles couldn't help feeling relieved that the Argent were such accomplished liar because a report would have alerted the Sheriff. Considering what he knew about Gerard, things would have gotten pretty complicated.

Luckily for them, no one had accused the pack of anything, to they were in the clear for the moment, as long as the story the Argent told held and no one found a stray shell or blood splatter in the empty warehouse, which had been thoroughly cleaned up at the end of the confrontation. They had been fortunate no one had been in the vicinity at the time, preventing anyone from hearing the gunshots.

For the moment, all of them had agreed not to focus too much on past events, preferring to concentrate on the present and the future, which regrettably included their own studies. Derek, who was the lucky one, as he had no test to worry about, was usually found taking the role of supervisor and making sure they were all prepared for when time came to sit on their examinations and ace them, mostly because he didn't want any parents taking too much interest in their children's extra-curricular activities, which would probably happen should they fail the tests and be held back a year. Plus, he found it better for everyone to have all his betas in the same grade, as it made it easier for them to regroup should anything happen.

Besides, Melissa had been pretty laid back up to now, concerning the whole werewolf thing, in you excluded the drinking binge she had gone on after her son had described, in details, everything that happened during the confrontation with Gerard. None of them could find it in themselves to blame her, though. She had talked to Derek and made damn sure he knew she would consider him responsible should anything happen to any of the children involved and that he was now also accountable for Scott's studying habits, since the alpha apparently saw him more often than her at this point.

On another note, Melissa had also talked to the Argent – and what wouldn't Stiles have given to be a fly on the wall during that particular meeting. Neither Allison nor Scott had given the pack any details of what had been said but, seeing that there had been no interdiction for them to continue seeing each other, it must have gone well enough.

Still, all of this meant that their pack meetings were now spent slaving of their homework and last minute revision, more than actually learning anything about werewolves and life as a pack. Stiles, thankfully, still managed to find some time to spend alone with Derek, mostly by staying out at his house later than the rest of the pack.

He tended to use Scott as an excuse with his dad. Considering the number of times Stiles had covered for him before his mom became aware of the truth – and still did, sometimes, when it concerned Allison – his best friend owed him. Since Melissa knew what was going on, she could back them up, even though Stiles knew she wasn't a hundred percent comfortable with lying to the Sheriff, as they were friends. She had agreed that it was Stiles' choice to tell him in the end.

The relationship between Derek and Stiles was comfortable, the teenager though. It wasn't exactly passion-filled, as he had previously imagined it would be, mostly because Derek was still pretty messed up after Kate – and Stiles had never thought he could actually actively wish for someone to be rotting in hell, but he would gladly make an exception for her after learning the way she had used the alpha. Stiles, for his part, had no experience whatsoever, so he was going with it, glad to finally have someone to kiss and to help but he knew there was something missing. For now, though, it was more than enough.

Of course, Stiles should have known better than to actually believe something was going their way for a change because, it stood to reason that, as soon as he thought that much, that would be when shit hit the fan and, once again, it held true.

The whole pack had been consciously studying on their own for a few hours now, not finding it especially strange for the alpha not to be there with them, since they had all been given their own key as the house was to be considered their den and they had to be able to take refuge in it at any given time. It had showed them how far Derek had come to trust them with everything. They had been given free reign.

All the same, they all looked up when he came in, the wolves having felt his rapid approach and already knowing something was wrong. Of course, for the human, it just took one look at his face as he came into the room to be made aware of it as well. He appeared way too preoccupied for it to be normal.

"Derek?" Stiles asked, the first one to talk, jumping to his feet, intending to go to his boyfriend and meet him halfway.

He didn't have time to, though. Derek took all but one second to be at his side and, after taking the time to sniff him first, he plopped down on the carpet, taking Stiles down with him. The others were all looking at him expectantly, all ready to hear about the new impending disaster. He didn't disappoint.

"We have a problem," he said and then held a hand up when it seemed like they were going to begin asking more question about it. "But it isn't anything to really worry about just yet, so don't use it as an excuse to stop studying."

"Yet?" Lydia repeated with emphasis, not exactly thrilled with his choice of words.

There were groans of exasperation all around, coming from the other pack members who thought they had already had enough excitement to last them a lifetime.

"You really think it can wait after the exams? Because my mom is going to kill me if I don't pass them," Scott added after seeing the incredulous looks sent his way.

Derek took pity on him.

"We should have some time to get ready to face them," he said. "I may need Stiles and Lydia's help to begin with, and maybe Danny, but for the rest of you, you should be alright as long as you keep your head down, at least until after school is done with."

He marked a pause as they all seemed to absorb his words and digest what he had just said. They stood more attentive, now that they knew it was important, especially the three who had been named. Derek looked at them, one after the others.

"There is a pack of alphas in town," he said and the announcement had pretty much the effect he had expected.

"What?" Isaac almost squeaked in surprise and Stiles, who was the closest to him physically, patted him on the arm, not reacting the way he leant into his side for comfort.

"A pack of alphas?" Jackson repeated, disbelieving. "How it that even possible?"

That was pretty much the one question running through each of their minds because a pack was supposed to have a hierarchy, with one alpha or an alpha pair. It appeared pretty impossible for a pack composed exclusively of alphas to be stable. Even Allison, who had spent quite some time through her family books, had never heard of it before.

"It's not a pack like ours, they are not meant to be a family. They are several alphas, without packs, who have formed an alliance of sort. Still, they are two leaders. The role of their pack is to test other packs, mainly to know if their own alpha is competent enough."

"So they are in Beacon Hills to test us," Lydia summarized briefly.

"And how does that make us not in immediate danger, exactly?" Stiles exclaimed, wanting to know, because at the moment it looked as if they would be attacked soon.

"I've heard about them from my family. From what little I know, they don't come in town with the idea of failing us. I remember my mother saying that their role is actually to help when a new pack is formed, to make sure our bonds are tight. They put us in a situation where we need to rely on each other. They do everything in their power to make sure that, if we pass the test, we will be a stable pack, to avoid being a danger to our whole race. That's why they never showed up in Beacon Hills before."

No one really knew what to say to that because Derek's meaning was more than clear. They had never had a need to come in town before because the Hale pack had been a very well-established one, a family who was tight enough, with the role of alpha being inherited and passed down from generation to generation. Before the fire, they had never needed to be tested but now, everything had changed and Derek would have to prove himself.

"What do you know about the test?" Lydia asked, not wasting any time before inquiring about the really important thing.

"Not a lot," the alpha admitted. "I know they are here because they left their marks at the edge of the territory, which means that none of us are allowed to leave, not until the test period is over."

"So it has already begun?" Allison asked.

Derek shook his head.

"Not yet, not as long as I don't contact them to tell them I accept the challenge. For now, they are warning us, preventing us from running, but they are still giving us the time to ready ourselves before it really begins. They have to give a warning because sometimes packs have members who are outside of territory, to visit someone, to attend school, to travel. They must have time to get back. I'll have to give my answer to them once we're ready to begin."

"Wait! Wouldn't that mean we can hold out indefinitely?" Jackson asked. "I mean, if you never answer them."

"They will escalate in their way to attract our attention, until we have no choice but to accept. In the end, they would end up doing something to gather the hunters' attention and we would have to accept, just to stop them. Besides, you really want to spend your whole life without leaving Beacon Hills?"

The answer, if you were to believe Jackson's expression, was a resonating no and Stiles really couldn't blame him. He loved his hometown, really, he did but the idea of never being able to set foot outside was not something to rejoice about.

"Anything else?" Lydia asked.

"They will tell us more about the test once we've answered the challenge. It's normally just one task, but a complicated one which forces us to work all together. They also have a magic user with them, so be careful."

"What?" Stiles exclaimed. "How the hell can we fight that?"

Derek squeezed him close.

"You don't have to worry about it. If I remember correctly the tales about it, the magic user doesn't actively participate once the test has begun. He put a spell over the territory once the pack arrives, so we're already under it. It's another measure to prevent us from leaving."

"What kind of spell?" Lydia asked.

They had mostly concentrated all their research on werewolf lore and, of course, the different creatures found in the bestiary because of the events of months ago but they hadn't had all that much time to look for information on magic and magic users.

Derek shrugged.

"It's supposed to help us," he said. "Not hinder but it doesn't mean we're going to like it. It may actually bring some harm, I don't know. I don't know enough about all of this to help. This is why I need the two of you to try and find information," he finished, talking to Stiles and Lydia.

All of them agreed. They would do all they could to help, especially considering they didn't know exactly how to do anything else about it. Suddenly, their homework seemed quite a lot less important, Stiles mused, looking at their textbooks with disgust. Considering what they were up against now, it appeared ridiculous to worry about their marks.

"Don't even think about abandoning your study. We have time," Derek said, seeing the look he was sporting and he almost groaned out loud.

Stiles grimaced but they couldn't go back to studying right now, not immediately. They first needed to organized themselves, at least some, to be able to begin as soon as they could.

"For the moment, I just need Lydia and Stiles to look if they can find anything in their papers, try to get anything you can even if you're not sure it's completely accurate. We can sort it out later. Allison," he said, looking at the huntress who seemed to straighten up under his gaze. "You need to warn your parents about the alphas' arrival, but they cannot interfere. It would just begin a war we don't need right now."

Allison agreed, assuring Derek she would make her parents understand that they needed to stay out of it. She would promise to keep them informed but also keep an eye out for any indication they were disobeying the rules and notify Derek immediately.

The rest of the afternoon was spent trying vainly to concentrate back on their school work and not the new threat. It proved more difficult now that they had a sword of Damocles hanging over their head. How were things going to work out now?"

* * *

Stiles had come home that night with the intention of not going to bed too late. Of course, his resolution crumbled the moment he dove for his computer the moment he reached his room. He immediately began looking around through the sites he had bookmarked in the past as being the more accurate. He tried to find all he could concerning their new friends in town and was soon so absorbed in his research that he failed to notice when minutes became hours and fatigue didn't seem to make an apparition, his concentration of the subject too intense for that.

He jumped about a mile up the moment he heard his phone go off, the insistent beeping indicating he had received a new text message. He thanked every deity he knew that it hadn't been an actual phone call, as that would have probably woke his dad up, which was why he usually always put his phone on silence before going to bed. Considering he had apparently forgotten the going to bed part, it wasn't all that surprising the sound was still there.

He quickly looked at the text, wanting to know who would be up at his hour and blinked twice when he saw the name of the sender because he couldn't believe his eyes. He had to have read this wrong because why the hell would Chris ask him if he was available to talk? Usually, the man simply arranger a fortuitous meeting – and Stiles still hadn't worked out how the hunter always appeared to know exactly where he would be at any given time, it was freaky – whenever he wanted to impart Stiles with his knowledge or ask the teenager a question.

Stiles didn't even take the time to think it through before calling right back. The man answered before the end of the first ring.

"Stiles?" he asked, concern more than a little obvious in his voice and Stiles realized that it was the middle of the night. "What are you doing up at this hour? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"You texted," Stiles said simply and straight to the point.

There was an instant of silence at the other end of the line and Stiles was going to prompt the other man to talk but he didn't have time.

"I didn't think it would wake you up," Chris explained, sounding apologetic. "I thought you would see it once you woke up."

Stiles snorted.

"I wasn't asleep," the teenager admitted. "I think I would have actually spent a completely sleepless night if you hadn't distracted me. At least, I'll probably have a few hours sleep now."

"Stiles," the man groused, letting out a loaded sigh.

"Yes, yes, I know. I should take better care of myself, especially during the finals. I just really didn't see time pass. What is it?"

"Can you meet me tomorrow?" Chris asked, something indecipherable in his voice, something that Stiles couldn't help worry about.

"I can stop by at your house after school or…"

"Why don't I wait for you when you get out? I can drive you home or to Derek's, and we can talk on the way."

Stiles was really beginning to get concerned by what was going on. Chris truly didn't sound so good and the whole secrecy thing he appeared to have going on was a cause for alarm. If only the man would just let Stiles on what he was thinking at the moment, or at least the subject he wanted to talk about, but it looked like he wanted to do this face to face.

"Chris," Stiles didn't know how to ask, mostly because he had no idea of what he should actually be asking but his voice must have probably given a lot away and done the trick.

"It's nothing bad, I promise," Chris reassured him, understanding the teenager's fear, especially since Allison had probably already told him all about the new resident of Beacon Hills and their goal. "I just… I need to talk to someone and my options are pretty limited at the moment."

The man finished his sentence with a mirthless laugh, an edge of bitterness in it and, yes, maybe Stiles could have taken that badly but, when he thought about it, he knew it was purely the truth and he knew that a seventeen year-old kid, one of his daughter's friends at that, may not have been the confident of choice of an adult man.

"I finish at three thirty," Stiles said, not having to think about his decision.

"Thank you, I'll see you tomorrow. And Stiles, sleep!"

"Yes sir!" Stiles joked and hung up, glancing a last time at his research and bookmarking every page he was on before closing off his browser and going to bed, wincing when he saw the time and calculating how many hours he would be able to sleep before he had to get up.

Unfortunately, the answer was not a lot. School was going to be absolute hell tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2/12 (+epilogue)

Stiles had texted Derek that morning to warn him he may be somewhat late for their meeting, that he would explain everything to him later but that he shouldn't be worried and he would, of course, show up eventually. Derek had been a bit suspicious but he was working on his trust issues and he had let it go because, after all, Stiles had never given him any reason to doubt the seriousness of his engagement to the pack, unlike some other people he could name. Because, just because the two of them were in a relationship didn't mean he had a right to know everything that was going on in Stiles' life.

Allison knew where he was going, obviously and that was mostly because it would have been a bit difficult for Stiles to get into her father's car without her noticing something was up. She wasn't sure what her dad and Stiles were going to talk about, but she knew they were going to have an important conversation. While the content was going to stay confidential, it didn't mean they were sneaking around. They had no reason to.

Stiles left immediately after the last bell rang, unable to keep the wariness at bay, even after Chris' assurance that nothing bad had happened. The fact that they just had their own conversation about the alphas pack the day before hadn't really helped his nerves at all. He said goodbye to the rest of the group, ignoring the curious glance sent his way as he jogged away and went straight to the parking lot where he had, luckily, no problem picking out Chris' vehicle.

He got in and firmly closed the door behind him, turning expectantly towards Chris, as if he was going to get an immediate explanation for their meeting.

"Hey!" he still greeted because, even if he was more than just a little anxious to hear what was going on, it was no reason not to be polite.

"Hello, Stiles," Chris answered, starting the ignition and pulling out of the parking lot without another word.

The hunter didn't seem to be in any hurry to talk about what was bothering him so Stiles began to chatter, filling up the silence with meaningless prattle because it just wasn't possible for him to stay in complete silence. Chris listened patiently, making all the right noise at the right time, proving to him he was indeed paying attention – or very good at faking it – but seeming happy to let Stiles make the conversation for both of them at the moment.

Eventually, Chris drove them inside the forest, navigating the small roads, and stopped the car in the middle of nowhere, somewhere on the way to Derek's house but not on the most frequented stretch of road. He killed the engine.

"Huh," Stiles said intelligently as he took in his surroundings with surprise. "Should I be worried you decided to kill me and dump my body somewhere in the woods?" he joked, his eyebrow raised in a mockery of a question, as he really hadn't expected to end up in a secluded place when he had agreed to have that particular meeting.

Chris' features showed a shadow of a smile for an instant, a mischievous expression appearing on his face.

"If I wanted to kill you, I assure you I wouldn't do it in these woods, way too close to your pack for my comfort," he explained as if he had actually given thought to the logistic of such an occurrence beforehand.

Stiles let out a startled laugh at that.

"Good point," he admitted after a second. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Chris sighed, closing his eyes and breathing deeply, leaning back against the headrest, unsure on how to begin now that he was there. It was so completely ridiculous but he needed to let it out somehow because, maybe, if he actually confided in someone, then these dreams would stop. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take it before it drove him completely insane.

"I just… I've been having these dreams," he began slowly, making sure to carefully choose his words and Stiles turned his body completely to look at him, suddenly very attentive, not sure whether or not it would be something in relation to the supernatural or just Chris needing to get something off his chest. "They aren't really, actually. Dreams, I mean. Not in the beginning, at least. They are more like memories, old memories…"

Stiles' mind went in overdrive as he registered the words. Dreams about the past, but that he couldn't talk about with either his wife or his daughter. It was something about him he didn't want them to know, which would reduce somewhat the possibility.

"About Gerard?" Stiles hazarded a first guess and Chris immediately shook his head, not surprised that Stiles had basically jumped to that conclusion but adamant that it wasn't that, which forced him to turn to his second choice concerning the mysterious topic. "Peter?"

The effect was instantaneous. Chris startled, as if he had been shocked. He most certainly hadn't expected Stiles to strike right through the heart of the matter. How could he have guessed about that? It had been months since the whole debacle with Peter.

"How did you…"

"Yearbook," Stiles cut him off in the middle of his question, already knowing what he was going to inquire about. "That and the school librarian is a really old gossip. I found out a while ago."

Chris blinked. He hadn't anticipate the teenager knowing that – and additionally, he couldn't believe this woman still worked at the school – but then again, it was Stiles and the teen had proved time and time again that he was way more resourceful than anyone gave him the credit for so he really shouldn't have been taken aback.

"So, you know we were friends back in school," Chris stated and Stiles nodded, not wanting to keep on interrupting Chris in the middle of his explanation. "I can't stop dreaming about that time but… not only that, there are elements of what happened last winter thrown in the middle. I can barely close my eyes anymore, not without saying it all over again."

Stiles looked at him a bit more intently and realized that he, indeed, looked absolutely exhausted in a way that he hadn't even managed to during the whole thing with his father. Okay, now Stiles was official worried.

"Is it because of everything that happened recently?" Stiles tried to guess. "Or do you always have these dreams… I mean, sometimes during the last twenty years?"

Chris shook his head.

"No, I mean… Yes, of course, sometimes it happens. I'll dream about that time, but once in a blue moon, not night after night, sometimes several times the same night. It wasn't even that bad after I heard about the fire or when Peter died. If anything, it should have happened then but… no, nothing."

"I don't know," Stiles began cautiously, as he wasn't exactly sure what Chris wanted from him. "Maybe you didn't have time enough to relax. I mean, sometimes the nightmares only begins after everything has settled down, once your subconscious knows you're safe and it's time to work it through. Maybe that's why it's only beginning now."

It was a bit of pop psychology but he knew, from his father, that it did sometimes happen that way so, why not in this particular case? Especially considering that killing his own father would have taken its toll on Chris and not helped at all with dealing with past traumas.

Chris sighed as he thought about it.

"I don't know…. I supposed it's possible, but…"

He didn't look very convinced with Stiles' theory and the teen couldn't blame him. It did seem a little bit farfetched, at least if he was dreaming about the good times as well. Not dreaming, Stiles corrected himself, remembering. He frowned. Perhaps, perhaps it wasn't something quite as natural as that. He was trying to figure out the puzzle and maybe, just maybe, he had an idea of what it could be.

"Did Allison tell you about the alphas pack?" Stiles asked out of the blue, or so it seemed, but Chris had become quite accustomed to the teenager's non sequitur and he didn't formalize himself with it.

"Yes, she told about everything you discussed. Victoria and I will stay out of it, unless we really have no other choice," he assured but that was hardly the reason Stiles had asked the question, though it was good to know.

"So you know a spell has already been put on the whole town?"

With that, Chris began to see exactly where the boy was going with this line of questioning and he frowned because it really didn't make sense for him to be involved into this. There was no reason he should be caught up in the alphas spell, not with what Allison had told him last night.

"You think my dreams come from this?" he inquired, skeptical, wanting to hear Stiles' own reasoning. "Why should they? I mean, it should only affect your pack."

Stiles shrugged. He knew that the hunter was making a very good point but, on the other hand…

"Allison's pack," he reminded the older man. "Maybe it kinds of affect you by proxy?" he hazarded a guess. "I don't know, maybe it also affect people related to us?"

"Victoria hasn't shown any sign of being under a spell," Chris stated. "And what about your father?"

Stiles had to admit, he had a valid point there. He hadn't really thought it through all the way but, in his mind, it was the only thing that made some kind of sense. Of course, he knew he had no way of knowing if something else was going on.

"I'm not sure I would actually know if my dad had dreams like these. I mean, we don't really talk all that much about important things. We haven't since… since a long time."

It still hurt Stiles more than anything to know he was, step by step, distancing himself from his only remaining parent. However, it was the only way for the teenager to be able to keep his father out of the loop and the worst part of it was that the man didn't seem to notice it at all. With about half of their numbers having been decimated by the kanima attack, all officers were working overtime, his father more than most. He was barely home nowadays and all of this told Stiles his father wouldn't talk to him about it, even if he was actually worried.

Chris' expression softened greatly as he watched him and Stiles almost felt the need to duck his head under the weight of the stare. The hunter squeezed his hand in a gesture of comfort, knowing what was going through Stiles' head as the teenager had already talked to him previously, and more than once, about his dilemma concerning his father.

"I'm sure you would notice if something was wrong with your father," he reassured. "But I don't think that's what's about. You were probably right when you said it was the trauma of everything that happened. It will probably stop soon enough. I shouldn't have bothered you with this."

He grimaced afterwards because, really, he shouldn't have unloaded all of his issues of Stiles. It wasn't fair to him. The young man already had more than enough to worry about with both his exams and the looming threat of the alphas. He shouldn't be adding to it like that. Still, he had to admit he was already feeling somewhat better now that he had let what bothered him out so he couldn't really feel too sorry to have done it. He would content himself with feeling guilty about it.

"I don't mind," Stiles corrected him quickly because he really didn't.

It did feel pretty good knowing that Chris trusted him enough to come to him with his problems; of course, he would do anything in his power to prove himself worthy of that trust.

"Thank you," the hunter said warmly before turning the key back in the ignition. "Now, what about I drive you to Derek's?"

"Thanks. He must be worried by now," Stiles said, snorting, because Derek was truly a worrywart. "Just a question, though. Derek has asked Lydia and I to find all we could on the alphas and their little test. You think you could maybe try to see if there is something about it in your books?"

Chris nodded, smiling affectionately at him.

"Sure, I'll keep you in the loop if I find anything. Don't hesitate to stop by if you want to look something up yourself."

On that note, Stiles considered the serious portion of the conversation concluded and resumed his previous chatter all the way to the Hale house, talking about nothing in particular and Chris let him, feeling lighter than he had before. He dropped him off right in front of the house, nodding congenially at Derek through the windshield as the man was waiting for his boyfriend on the porch, having probably already heard the car coming a while ago.

* * *

Stiles entered the house cheerfully, under Derek's questioning glance and everybody's head perked up from their books, in the hope of knowing exactly what he had been doing up to now. Considering he had absolutely no intention of repeating any of this conversation to them, he couldn't do anything but begin discussion another topic to try and derail their attention, reporting it on another matter.

"So, what have I missed?"

Jackson snorted, while Scott made quite the impressive grimace.

"Nothing," he groused. "We're still studying."

Allison had to use her hand to muffle the giggle that she couldn't stop erupting from her mouth at the pout her boyfriend was sporting. Poor Scott had been hoping for a break from all the studying, even knowing about his mother's threat, but apparently, it wasn't to be.

"I told you, all the business concerning the alphas pack can wait until the end of the week, when your exams are over."

"He's just afraid of Mrs. McCall," Jackson translated Derek's stubbornness at them finishing their schoolwork before doing anything else about the new threat in town.

"I'm not!" Derek defended himself just a little bit too vehemently for it to appear entirely truthful.

Danny burst out laughing at that and Allison finally lost complete control of her giggling.

"It's okay," Stiles reassured, fighting a smile. "Mrs. McCall can be pretty scary, especially when it comes to Scott."

He was also having the same trouble containing his mirth because, seriously, imagining the big bad alpha cowering in front of Melissa was simply a hilarious mental picture to have; he ignored Derek's continued protests that he wasn't afraid of Scott's mother.

"Stiles," Lydia said, cutting through the laugher. "Have you found anything yet?"

Lydia, like Stiles, was exempt from the order to go on studying without caring about the alphas pack, because she was more than ready to take her tests. Danny also found himself in the same boat but he wasn't, for the moment, required to help in the researching. He would be at their disposal in they found themselves in need of looking through some less than legal channel.

"Not much, not anything very reliable anyway. I'll hit the library tomorrow after school, maybe also Deaton's."

"What about my family's books?" Allison asked, because she knew they contained a lot of information that they would be unable to find anywhere else.

"Your dad is going to look around," Stiles told her. "He'll tell us if he finds something."

"Yeah…. What were you doing with Mister Argent, anyway?" Jackson asked and just about everyone stopped what they were doing, curious to hear the answer for themselves, Derek included.

Stiles shrugged.

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Just talking and no, it has nothing to do with the pack, or hunters for that matter, so I'm not going to repeat anything."

There were some murmurs of disappointment in the group, especially from Scott who was giving his best friend the puppy eyes, as they had worked more than once during the course of their friendship. However, Stiles held strong this time around and refused to say a word about it, no matter how much cajoling they did.

The rest of the meeting was spent mostly like all the previous ones, and it didn't take very long before everyone left, one after the others, assuring Derek they would go on revising on their own. Derek asked Stiles to stay behind, telling him he would drive him home since he had left his jeep in his own driveway. He said goodbye to the others and threw himself back the carpet, lying down on his back, watching Derek as he paced.

"What's wrong, Sourwolf?" he asked as he saw the man looking slightly put out and didn't seem to be in any hurry to come to him, even now the others were out.

They didn't usually show too much affection to each other in front of the pack, Derek not being very comfortable with the publicity of it, even though he had never denied their relationship or failed to accept Stiles' marks of affection if he decided to show them. Still, Stiles tended to take Derek's desire in consideration and follow his lead. Of course, that usually meant that the alpha was freer with his hugs once the pack members were out and yet, now, he remained at a distance.

"You lied before," he said and tried his best not to make it sound accusing as he didn't think Stiles had any intention of hurting the pack. "They didn't realize it because it didn't seem like a complete lie but not the whole truth either…"

Stiles frowned. He hadn't realized he had lied at any point and he was trying to pinpoint what the other was talking about.

"When?"

"When you said that what you talked about with Argent didn't concern the pack."

There was an undercurrent in Derek's voice to tell him what he had been talking about and Stiles was taken aback for a second because that wasn't a lie. Except…

"It's not… Look, he told me something in confidence but… well, there is something about what he told me that made me ask if he could be affected by the spell the alphas pack used. We ended up thinking it would be a no because, well, neither his wife nor my dad are affected and it would be a bit strange if he was the only one with family in the pack who was. I guess my subconscious doesn't completely agree with me… I swear that's the extent of what concerned the pack."

Derek nodded, having listened to Stiles' heartbeat carefully, realizing the other was telling the truth and he felt slightly back about having almost accused him of something. He sat down besides the teenager and attracted him to him. Stiles let himself be kissed, responding with equal fervor.

"Sorry," Derek apologized.

"I would never hide something concerning the pack from you, you know that. And so does Chris. He would never put me in that position."

Derek acquiesced once again. Yes he knew it and he did trust the hunter to keep his words, but that didn't mean that his old reflexes were easy to ignore. It was hardly fair of Derek, he was aware of that, but he couldn't forget that he was Kate's brother, even if he was different from her. He knew, though, he would have to make more of an effort in the future, especially where Stiles was also concerned, because the kid had never given him any reason to believe he would betray him.

"I know," Derek admitted and promised not to jump to conclusion anymore.

Thankfully, the next few hours were angst-free, spent in calm and serenity, the two of them taking advantage of a rare moment of quiet.

* * *

At the Argent house, however, things were going far less smoothly for Allison's parents, still at odd with each other after the last few months' events, especially when it came to Allison's involvement with the pack, which Victoria was still not happy about. Nevertheless, as Chris had given their daughter the okay, she couldn't forbid her from seeing them without being cast in the bad role. Besides, she was more certain that Allison wouldn't have listened to her anyway. The news from the alphas pack hadn't helped her state of mind any. At least, she was content they had agreed to stay out of it.

Of course, that resolution seemed to have gone out of the window, she realized when she came home to find her husband pouring over his books, a mug of coffee at hand. He had no good reason to be looking for information, as she knew he hadn't been contacted for a hunt, except if he was researching the alphas.

"I thought we were staying out of it," she said bitingly, a scowl making its way on her face.

Chris looked up from his book to gaze at her and he winced internally when he saw how unhappy with him she appeared to be right now.

"We are," he sighed. "But I told Stiles I would see if I could find anything that could be helpful with their preparation."

Victoria's scowl deepened.

"I accept that we're not hunting their pack, as they have done absolutely nothing to deserve it," she began slowly. "But how can you stand to help them? We are hunters, we don't make friends with werewolves, no matter how tamed they are."

It was Chris' turn to begin to feel anger at that.

"Allison is part of their pack, in case you have forgotten, Victoria. Of course, I'm going to do all I can to help them!"

Her nostrils flared and the glare she sent him would have chilled a lesser man.

"No, I haven't forgotten about that, Chris. But whose fault it that if she's involved? We should have forbidden her to see them the moment we learnt about the McCall boy, we should have moved away once the business with the Alpha was over. But now, you didn't want to do that and for why?"

"Because she's happy here," Chris yelled back before continuing more softly. "For the first time in a long time, our daughter is genuinely happy and that's because of her friends so yes, I can deal with her being a part of the pack if I can see her go through her life with a smile on her face."

That seemed to deflate Victoria some, but she couldn't find it in herself to be content with the situation. Of course, she wanted Allison to be happy, but she didn't need to be surrounded by werewolves for that to happy. Still, it wasn't one more screaming match which was going to help the matter at all, even if it seemed it was the only way they appeared to be able to communicate at the moment.

"Fine, do whatever you want, I can't stop you," she sighed, resigned, knowing her husband could be extremely stubborn when he chose to. "I'm going away for a few days. Annalise called me for backup. Just technical support, so I won't be in any danger. And I need to get out of town for a few days."

Something in the way she said it make Chris' insides freeze because there was an edge to her voice he didn't like at all. However, his features softened when he heard the end of her sentence.

"Vicky," he began hesitantly, using his old nickname for her and she did smile genuinely at that.

"It's just for a few days, Chris," she said, kissing him softly. "It'll do us some good. I'll keep in touch. I need to go pack a bag, I won't leave until Allison is home. I want to tell her in person."

He nodded and watched attentively as she moved up the stairs. As she disappeared from his view, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead on his entwined hands. He hoped the situation wasn't as doomed as it looked at the moment.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3/12 (+epilogue)

Strangely enough in Stiles' opinion, Derek's prediction of a peaceful end to the school year held true. All the teenagers of the pack completed their examinations, most of them already certain they had passed with flying color, others a little more nervous, but the results came and they were good. All of them would find themselves back in Beacon Hills High at the beginning of September, for their last year of high school.

During all that time, they had been no sign of the alphas anywhere, at least none that they were able to noticed. Who knew, maybe Derek had kept some things to himself, because he wanted them to concentrate on their schoolwork and not worry about anything else. Nothing had attracted their attention at any rate.

Stiles and Lydia had looked for information with gusto, at the beginning, but it front of the absolute inaction of the new threat in town, their enthusiasm had winded down. Of course, it didn't mean they had completely stopped; they weren't stupid enough to think it would not be required later on, but they were far from the frenzy they had gone through during the kanima's situation.

Of course, Stiles should have known it was too good to last for long. Maybe the alphas had realized that most of their numbers was composed of high school students and they had deemed Derek to be in the right to make them wait for his answer. After all, the role of the alpha was to take care of all the needs of the pack, even those concerning their education. His lack of answer when they were in the middle of their examination may have been taken as a good thing. However, now that the summer vacations had begun, it was very different.

Stiles was woken up early that morning by his father's cursing. That, in itself, was already extremely odd. The Sheriff was hardly the kind of man who lost his cool very easily and to swear loud enough to be heard all the way to Stiles' room, even with the window open, was very strange indeed.

Stiles was on his feet and at the window in seconds. He looked down, calling out to his dad.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worriedly.

The Sheriff looked up to him, apologetic at having woken his son up so early when he was on vacations. It was barely six but he had to be at work soon and he had been caught by surprise by what he had found when he had left the house.

"Nothing," he sighed. "Just some kids who thought it would be fun to vandalize the Sheriff's cruiser, apparently."

It was tremendously obvious that the man, unlike the people responsible, didn't find it funny at all and, for a second, Stiles thought he really wouldn't want to be in the place of the vandals when his father caught them. They would have some real troubles coming their way once he got them. Vandalizing any property was bad enough in the eye of the law but, when it was the Sheriff's car, that was crossing the line into stupidity.

"You would think they would at least use words or well-known symbols instead of weird patterns," he continued, oblivious to Stiles' missing.

That had the effect of immediately waking the teenager up, more than he already was and sent his brain in overdrive. He may not have thought anything about something like that happening the year before, however now, anything considered weird tended to make an alarm bell ring in his head. Especially considering who was in town right now.

"Wait!" Stiles cried out as he saw his father was on the verge of getting in the car, having to drive it to the station even if there was spray paint on it.

After all, if anyone wanted to find who had done it, they would need to get the car at the station for processing anyway, so it would be easier if he drove it there anyway.

The Sheriff didn't even have the time to ask Stiles why exactly he wanted him to wait that the teenager had already disappeared from the window and was running down the stairs, almost tripping down in his haste to join his father outside.

"What's wrong, Stiles?" the Sheriff asked, partly curious but also concerned about his son behavior.

It really wasn't like Stiles to have that much energy straight in the morning when he had been forced to get up at the crack of dawn. He would have thought the kid would be back in his bed before he had even had time to leave for work but it appeared that he had been wrong.

"Nothing," Stiles answered promptly as he stopped dead in his track just outside the door, trying to appear nonchalant, which didn't work very well. "I'm just curious. You said weird patterns and you know me and weird, right? I just wanted to see what it was."

It was an explanation as good as any and it wasn't as if it was that far from the truth, anyway. There was no way his father would doubt he was anything but honest, he was getting pretty good at getting crap past the Sheriff's radar. It was sad, really, but also extremely relieving not to have to always worry about whether or not he was lying convincingly enough.

Moving slowly towards the car, he took a good look at the pictures sprayed in black paint on his dad's cruiser. It was beautifully done, he had to admit. It looked as good as some of the best graffiti he had seen over town but he knew it was nothing of the sort.

The symbol held a strong resemblance to Derek's tattoo, except more angular. Where Derek's tattoo was composed of circle and spirals, the symbol was made of triangles. The slight different was however not big enough to knock Stiles out of balance and make him miss the obvious. It had to have been made by the alphas pack, there was no other explanation possible.

So much for a respite, he nearly sighed out loud but was able to catch the reaction before it showed. It seemed they were done waiting for them in silence. Now was time for the escalation Derek had talked about. It had been way too good to be true, Stiles admitted, but he would have liked to have some more time to prepare, at least until they had a strategy but they shouldn't have taken for granted that they would have more time. It was their own damn fault, really.

"Do I have your permission to go to work now, Stiles, or do you need to ogle my car's new paintwork some more before?"

Stiles was jolted out of his thought by his father's voice. He had completely blanked out and forgotten the man was still there, when his mind had begun wondering about the possibility of the alphas pack's plan.

"Of course, dad. It wouldn't dream of keeping you. it's kind of weird as tags do, though," he said, because his father was expecting him to comment on what was right in front of him, he just knew it.

The Sheriff nodded at him.

"I guess there is no accounting for taste. Or behavior. I'm guessing it will be easier to find whoever did this, though. Most delinquent just content themselves with swearwords…"

Stiles repressed a wince when he heard the man say that because he was fairly certain he wouldn't ever find the guilty party of that particular misdemeanor and it was one more crime his father wouldn't be able to solve. There were quite a lot of these unsolved cases adding up, as they had had to close the investigation they had begun a few months ago, after the beast completely disappeared and the case went cold. They had never been able to find the human connection.

Stiles knew his father would never be able to let his failure go, not when the victims' family would never find closure and especially when he knew most of them personally, considering the large majority of the people who had fallen to the kanima were his men. He would be so mad at Stiles if he ever found out the truth, mad to know that his son let him investigate without telling him what he knew, mad that his son never admitted the truth even after hearing how depressed not being able to solve the case was making his father. He knew he risked losing the man to the truth, once it was revealed, but he couldn't afford to think about it too much.

With a lost goodbye, his father got into the cruiser and left for the station, ready for a shift. The moment it happened, Stiles ran back to his room to put some clothes on as he wanted to get to Derek the quickest he could. That didn't mean, however, he was going to go in his pajamas. He had standard, even if they were very low. Once that was done, he jumped into his jeep and drove to the Hale house.

When he didn't see Derek standing on the porch, waiting for him, as was his habits, he realized that the alpha was probably still in bed. The big bad alpha was not a morning person at all, who would have thought it? Recognizing he had overreacted slightly, considering no one was hurt and the alphas pack wouldn't go attacking anyone right at this moment, as the escalation was supposed to be gradual, he didn't need to tell Derek right this second.

Oh, well, since he was already there, he supposed there was no harm in letting himself in and preparing breakfast. At least, he would have a nice morning with his boyfriend. The day wouldn't have been wasted completely and he could tell Derek about the symbol over coffee, if possible once the man was well and truly awake.

So he set himself to perform his self-imposed task and, as the bacon was frying, he heard footsteps echoing behind him and felt a pair of arms slip around his waist. He couldn't help smiling as he leant back against the hard chest.

"What are you doing here?" Derek asked, nuzzling his neck sleepily; yes, really not a morning person.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to come by so early but I had a bit of a freak out before realizing I was overreacting so I decided to make breakfast, you know, as a peace offering."

Derek had tensed up when he heard Stiles talk about a freak-out but, considering the end of that sentence, he calmed himself down as it couldn't have been that bad. Still, even as he relaxed slightly, he couldn't help asking about it.

"What happened?"

Stiles nearly sighed in disappointment when Derek let go of him, but he had to finish the bacon, if possible without burning it, so he had other things to worry about. He finished quickly, explaining about the chain of events of that morning while he did so, and set the table down, for two as his own stomach had reminded him that he hadn't eaten yet, either.

Derek didn't like it one bit that the alphas had apparently chosen to target Stiles. It may not have been anything harmful, but it was still as if they had painted a neon sign, telling them they had decided to go after the teen first and he hated it. Of course, the alphas would have known about Stiles being his boyfriend and he felt guilt about it, even if he knew Stiles would probably manage to stab him with his fork should he dare to say it out loud. He didn't risk it, but couldn't help thinking Stiles would be better off without him.

"They are escalating. I supposed it had to happen soon enough. For the moment, let's see if we can find more about their practices before I answer their summon. They shouldn't try to hurt anyone, not immediately."

"Why now? It has been two week since you told us about them being here, and they did nothing at all. Why now? Is two weeks a special duration? Or has it really to do with school?" Stiles asked, wanting to know if he could make sense of it.

Derek shook his head.

"They have observed us before showing themselves. It means they know most of the pack is still in school. They were waiting for the end of the year."

Stiles' eyes bugged at having his theory confirmed because he had never actually believed it. It was simply a ridiculous notion but it did fit the timing well enough to be possible. A threat that cared for their timetable, it had to be a new one.

"They are not here to make life more difficult for us, they wouldn't want us to fail and we can't concentrate on two things at once. It's normal."

"But now, we need to act pretty quickly. I mean, if they have reached their quota of patience, it's going to get back quickly?" Stiles asked, frazzled because, as of right now, neither he nor Lydia had found anything that could help and Chris hadn't either.

"Not yet, I really want to wait for as long as I can. Your dad doesn't suspect anything?"

Stiles looked at him with a strange expression on his face because, really, what kind of question was that?

"That a pack of alpha werewolves is responsible for spraying paint all over his cruiser? No, strangely enough, that wasn't the first conclusion he reached. He suspects a gang, or any young delinquent for that matter…"

Derek looked a bit embarrassed to have asked such a ridiculous question but it had been a reflex. When you have a secret you want to keep from someone at any price, you always jump to the conclusion someone may have learnt about it as soon as there is something going wrong.

"I'll get the pack. We need to talk about what's going on and I need everyone on deck as of now. All of us have enough free time."

Stiles nodded and they continued their discussion while waiting for their packmates to show up after Derek's mass texts. They didn't really talk about anything important, because if they did, they would have to go over it all over again as soon as the others were here.

Thankfully, they were very prompt. Stiles supposed they were all still on edge about the possibility of an attack, even though Derek had told them it wasn't going to happen soon.

To no one's surprise, Jackson and Lydia were the first ones to arrive. Of course, that was because they knew Lydia would make sure to make it there in record time, not wanting to waste a single second before having the information they needed. Allison arrived soon afterwards, Scott not in tow for once, mostly because he was probably still sleeping, as were the others.

"So, we all know why Jackson's here that quickly," Stiles began, earning himself a glare form said boy, a derisive snort from Derek who knew exactly who it was that wore the pants in this relationship and a giggle from Allison, while Lydia looked on, smug as ever. "What about you Allison?"

The huntress shrugged with a smile.

"I was already up," she explained. "I'm pretty much a morning person and it's the best time to get some exercise. Dad and I tend to work out straight out of bed."

By the look of disgust on both Derek and Jackson's face, they agreed that the last thing they wanted to do in the morning were exercises, at least not before eight. Stiles tended to agree. He, himself, preferred to sleep in but, if he was up, he was most likely to go straight to his computer than run around.

Isaac was the next one to show up and he didn't seem very awake. It was undeniably cute, though, to see a werewolf looking that sleepy. He barely muttered a hello to his packmates before lying down on the carpet, cuddling up to Stiles who was sitting cross-legged, his back to the couch, as was his habit. Stiles didn't even try to argue about it, as he had gotten pretty used to the curly haired teen using him as a teddy bear, or a pillow depending on his mood. It seemed that, except for Scott, it was Stiles that Isaac had taken the most to and Stiles had to admit it was pretty nice to feel needed.

Stiles contained his snort when he realized that Isaac had actually fallen back asleep just after making contact with the ground. As he saw Derek open his mouth, probably with the intention of waking the teen up and telling him he had to be attentive to the meeting, Stiles shook his head, stopping him.

"Let him sleep until everyone is here," he whispered. "It's not as if we're talking about anything important at the moment."

It took another fifteen minutes for Danny to arrive and one more half hour for Scott. Considering that the meeting hadn't been planned, Derek didn't really have any room to complaint about their time response. He was already lucky all of them had showed up before noon, as some of them may have been sleeping and could have missed their phone going off. God knew that he, himself, at their age, would sleep until early afternoon sometimes.

Isaac was summarily woken the moment Scott passed the door and, within minutes, the entirety of the pack had been brought up to speed about what had happened to the Sheriff's car and what it meant for the alphas pack to have chosen to reveal themselves more directly.

"For now, I'm not yet answering the challenge but I need all of you to help finding information. Lydia and Stiles, you go on the same way you have up to now. Scott, I need you to talk to Deaton and look into his book, maybe he know something about the pack. Jackson, you have the more pull with people around town, ask around if anyone has seen or heard anything suspicious. Danny, I'm going to give you a list of possible name, try to find anything you can on them, legally or illegally. Allison, you help your father look into your family books."

He listed off their duty and none of them even thought about arguing about the tasks they had been given, as they knew it was supremely important. They had realized they worked better all together and they could do whatever needed to be done once they actually temped up. Derek was just helping them canalize their energy and put together all of what they were doing so they wouldn't step on each other toes.

"And what do you need me to do?" Isaac asked, as he hadn't been told anything and wanted to help anyone he could. "I want to do something."

Derek almost smiled at him, but managed to contain it. Still, his eyes gave him away and the affection pouring from him was visible for anything who knew him.

"I need you to stay with Stiles," he began and stalled off any argument from his boyfriend before even hearing them. "As the alphas pack has targeted him already, I want someone with him at any time should anything happen. I don't think they will try to hurt you but better safe than sorry because maybe things have changed since I've heard my information. I would do it myself but Isaac would be less trouble if the Sheriff end up noticing something."

Stiles was still feeling a bit put out but understood why he would need the protection. He was only human after all and wouldn't be able to do anything against an alpha, let alone a pack of them. Plus, it wasn't as if it was a chore to have Isaac stay with him for a few day. He did like the other teen and they hadn't had the occasion to spend all that much time on their own, so it would be a way for them to bond without the others.

He also understood why Derek couldn't be the one to spend his time with him. Another close call like the one last year wouldn't do very well. Plus, he supposed Derek had more important thing to do to prepare than to play babysitter. He probably had contact in the supernatural world, at least other packs, that he could hit up for information. He may have just decided to wait until the alphas made their intentions clearer, he didn't know.

All of them showed their agreements and went their separate ways, their new goals clear in mind.

* * *

Isaac was lounging on Stiles' bed, looking as said teen was hunched on a stack of books and had been for quite some time already. He had gone home to get some change of clothes and warn his father – who couldn't really care less, truth to be told – that he was going to spend a few days at Stiles'. His father had been slightly nervous when he heard that, knowing that, at any point, Isaac could chose to tell the Sheriff about how he had been treated in the past, but hadn't dared to say anything about it.

Since he had arrived, though, Stiles had spent most of his time either on the computer or looking through his books. He had taken the time to show Isaac, who had never been to his house before, around and told him to help himself to any food or drinks he wanted. He had also showed him his research result from last year.

Isaac had been astonished. Of course, he had known that Stiles was smart and had done a lot to help all of them in the past, but he had never actually realized how much before because, when he or Lydia told the pack about what they had found, they usually only gave them the pertinent facts, without all the mass of information they had to go through to get there. He guessed he had never thought much about it in the end.

Now, he had the evidence in front of him, as he was rifling through all the things he had never known about werewolves and he was seeing how hard Stiles worked. He was hardly taking any break and he had been at it for hours. Isaac had stayed mostly silent, because he was kind of afraid to break Stiles' concentration and have the other teen mad at him.

He was reading through the papers in front of him and Stiles was absolutely entranced by his reading, having apparently found something that appeared promising, or so Isaac thought, when they both jumped. Isaac cursed himself at letting himself be startled by the doorbell ringing. Derek had asked him to be there to protect Stiles and he wasn't even paying attention enough to notice when someone was getting close to the house. He winced, hoping that Derek would never get wind of that.

Stiles let out a laugh after he saw Isaac startle as much as him. He shook his head.

"We're a bit jumpy, I guess," he snorted. "Wait here, I'll get the door. I don't think the alphas are going to ring the bell."

"It's Lydia and Jackson," Isaac said as he had taken the time to concentrate on the people outside to make sure they weren't a threat before Stiles actually went to open the door.

Stiles' eyebrow shot up. A werewolf who didn't come by through the window, that was a novelty. He supposed he had Lydia to thank for that, as he doubted Jackson would have had the decency to do so if she hadn't been there. He would have followed the example of his alpha and come through the window.

He ran down the stairs, not wanting the neighbors to know he had some visitors that late at night, especially a girl as it would be certain to get straight back to his father's ears and he really didn't feel like explaining this one. Considering who the girl in question was, the Sheriff wouldn't have let it go that easily, no matter how over her he was.

He opened the door and ushered them inside. Stiles found is strange Lydia wasn't there with at least a book, because the only reason she would have come was if she had found something she wanted to share immediately, Jackson following because he didn't want her alone outside with such a threat hanging over them. It less than thirty seconds, they were upstairs.

Jackson, who had never been in his room before as he wasn't exactly one of Stiles' closest friends, entered the place, took a good look around and snorted.

"Now, I understand why you two get along so well," he commented towards Stiles and Lydia as the scattered papers and books all over the room were undeniably reminiscent of the room he had just left before coming here.

Lydia shot him a glare, apparently not very appreciative of the comparison. Stiles didn't say anything because, quite frankly, it wasn't what you could call an insult. Actually, for Jackson, it was downright friendly where he was concerned.

Lydia took her laptop out of the bag Jackson had been carrying until now and opened it.

"I was looking in the books I borrowed from the library when I realized that I hadn't even thought about consulting the bestiary because we had only tried to find information about other creatures in it. But there is a section on werewolves too and some very nice information on the alphas."

Stiles blinked and Isaac was the one to say what he was also thinking.

"That book is old, like centuries old. How can the pack be inside? I mean, they would be dead by now, right?"

Isaac looked at her questioningly and Stiles had to admit it was a very good question. Werewolves may have been more durable but they were hardly immortal. There was no way it was possible for them to have been alive at the time of the redaction of the book and be now in Beacon Hills.

"That's because the members of the pack aren't the same anymore. They recruit new people to replace those who die or decide to leave the pack. They have been around since way before the bestiary was ever written," Lydia explained.

He should have thought about that, Stiles mused, but then again, he couldn't know everything. Still, it was already a good thing for them to have found that.

"Is there a lot?" he asked because he really needed to know.

Isaac became very interested but Jackson seemed to be only listening with one ear, probably because he must have already heard the information from Lydia when she had first found them, before coming here.

"Kind of. Don't forget this is from the point of view of the hunters. They didn't exactly have an inside source to get the information. Still, there are some interesting points. First, Derek was right when he said that it was a test made to stabilize packs, help them. It's not supposed to make us fail. However, they are very strict. If they think our pack isn't stable, Derek is not fit to be our leader, the punishment is going to be tough."

Stiles had already worked that one out for himself, without need to find a written proof, but that didn't mean he wanted to hear it said out loud. Of course, he had to think that Derek would succeed because he was a good alpha, even if he did improvise quite a lot.

"Derek would be killed and the betas either chose to integrate other packs or… actually, they don't say what the second choice is but I doubt it's a good one. Humans are generally left alone," she explained.

"What test must we pass?" Isaac asked, worriedly, as he didn't want to lose his newfound family.

Stiles took the other teen's hand into his, understanding his fears and wanting to reassure him even as he, himself, was scared to hear what it would be.

"It's never twice the same assignment. All we know, it's there is only one task, but a difficult one. All the pack needs to be involved and all the pack need to make it out alive. We most certainly will have to find ourselves the exact nature of the task, they will probably only give us a hint."

Stiles didn't really like the sound of that, because it seemed it would be extremely difficult. And what did it mean all the pack had to participate? Would Lydia's involvement into finding what it was already count or was there a mission they all had to be reunited for?

"The thing is," Lydia said and she didn't seem very happy about what she was going to add. "The more we wait, the more they are going to make things difficult for us. We need for Derek to answer their challenge as soon as possible."

"That's where you come in, Stilinski," Jackson interjected. "Because we know he will listen to you more than anyone else."

Stiles was going to defend himself from the notion, but Isaac talked before he had time.

"He's right, you can convince him," the young man said he knew it was useless to try to say anything else.

He nodded to them. Yes, he would talk to Derek as soon as he could, tomorrow morning, before anyone got hurt in the crossfire of the escalation of the alphas pack.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4/12 (+epilogue)

The talk with Derek went smoother than expected. Lydia had accompanied Stiles, mostly to relay the information without anything getting lost in translation. Stiles' Latin may have improved drastically as he took time to learn a few words everyday – even though he had had less time to do it than he would have hoped – but it still was not nearly enough to work with the bestiary as well as Lydia could.

They had explained to Derek about what Lydia had found, of course reminding him that a lot must have been left out because of the source of the text, but from what they could tell they needed to contact the alphas and soon if they didn't want to be penalized before the test even began.

Derek hadn't liked having to accept their challenge without being in possession of all the information beforehand but he had seen reason, as it was not useful to make things harder on themselves, without even being sure they would be able to find more given time. They could still go on researching even after the testing period had begun if they needed to. Now, all they would need was to know what was expected of them.

The alpha had reunited the pack in its entirety, knowing the challengers would probably want to talk to all of them at the same time. They all took their usual seat, with Derek on the couch, Lydia on a chair and all the others sitting on the carpet. Stiles mused that the alphas pack would probably appreciate the show of hierarchy, even if it wasn't intended that way for them. If they could make sure to have a good start, he would gladly let them believe he had no problem seeing himself below Derek and Lydia.

Once everyone was reunited and ready for the confrontation, Derek let out a howl that reverberated throughout the whole house. Even the humans of the pack flinched under the volume and Stiles could understand why the other wolves all had their hands covering their ears. It was brutal.

Eventually, after a few seconds of silence, all the wolves perked up and held their breath. Lydia frowned and Danny looked at his friends curiously while both Allison and Stiles braced themselves. Even without hearing anything, they could tell that Derek's call had just been answered and that the alphas would be there very soon.

It didn't take long. Derek got up and walked to the door, wanting to greet them at the entrance, not only to be polite but also to serve as a rampart for the others, should their interpretation been wrong and the alphas there to attack. As it was, it was an unnecessary precaution.

Derek welcomed the five wolves and let them in. He had tensed immensely, Stiles could see, but was going his best not to let it show too much. Of course, if he could see it, he was the certain the alphas also could but, then again, it probably went the same way everywhere they went and Stiles doubted they would formalize themselves with that.

The three who seemed to be the followers of the group sat themselves around the table and the couple appearing to be in charge stayed on their feet, in front of them. They looked at each member of the pack, one after the other, and Stiles wondered for a second if they should show their obedience by looking down but, as everyone else continued to maintain eye contact, he chose to do the same.

It did seem to please them as the mal nodded imperceptibly his approval and the female smiled softly, softening her features and Stiles had to admit that she was beautiful in an exotic – and dangerous – way.

"I'm Deucalion," the mal began and the attention of every person in the room was immediately on him. "My mate is Kali. The rest of our pack is composed of Ethan, Aiden and Ennis."

As he enumerated their name, each other wolves nodded to show who was who and Stiles realized what he had first missed, that Ethan and Aiden were twins. They also seemed younger than the rest, almost too young to be alphas. Then again, Derek was only a few years older so…

"We have come to you, Alpha Hale, to assess both your pack and yourself," he began explaining, although he was probably aware that Derek knew that much. "To decide if you are a threat to our community. If you pass our assessment, we will leave Beacon Hills and leave your pack alone until such a time where words come to us that the situation has changed enough to warrant another check-up."

Derek nodded his understanding of the situation. He didn't appreciate being talked to that way, and the undercurrent affirmation that his pack was not a good group, but he didn't want to provoke a fight when there was no need to and didn't want to begin by a bad point.

"Should you fail, the sentence will be swift."

"I understand," Derek stated in a clear and concise voice. "I'll do my best to live up to your expectation and my pack will follow."

"I am glad you understand our rule," Kali said, her musical voice putting everyone more at ease immediately and Stiles was uncomfortable with the involuntary reaction as she was clearly a threat and the fact that they all relaxed appeared unnatural.

Kali must have noticed the trouble of his face as she turned to address him personally, putting Derek on the defensive, more than he already was. However, she had absolutely no intention of attacking.

"You have realized something," she said, looking at him, observing him. "You do not have to be afraid to speak up, Stiles," she added and the fact that she knew his name didn't come as a surprise as they had known they had been watching the group before, even announcing their presence to Derek.

Stiles swallowed but answered promptly, as her words were a disguised order.

"You're a magic user," he said and he saw some of the others' eyes widen, even the twins.

Ennis looked bored but Deucalion had an almost approving look on his face and Stiles realized that, far from having hurt, his little deduction had apparently impressed them, as they probably weren't expecting anyone to be able to tell.

"Very good," Kali approved. "I am indeed the magical practitioner of the pack. As such, I will be here to judge your effort but I shall, at no moment, interfere as I have already acted at the extent of my function."

That statement put all of the pack more at ease instantly, as it matched what Derek had told them. They now had confirmation they would at least be spared the task of fighting a sorceress. The aura of relief must have been hard to miss for the alphas, but they chose not to comment, as they probably understood quite well.

As Kali and Deucalion didn't seem to have a problem with talking with other member of the pack and not just Derek, Lydia was confident enough to speak up and ask the question that had been bothering her.

"You have already put a spell on the town. Can you give us any more details about it?"

Unlike most of the time she asked a question, usually the inquiry being a masked order, Lydia made sure to keep her tone light, really asking instead of expecting an answer as her right. She knew she couldn't make the mistake of treating them as she would her own pack member, as it would probably be seen as a sign that Derek was a bad leader.

Kali smiled benevolently, but shook her head.

"I fear the most I can tell you about it is that the spell I have woven has a life of its own and is supposed to act as a guide for your pack," she answered vaguely but Lydia didn't try to get more information.

It was already more than she had expected, to be honest, and she didn't want to tempt her luck, especially as Derek seemed to be looking at her, not with a glare, but a warning glance. He knew that, as gentle and civil the pack appeared to be, they were still predators and there were lines they couldn't cross. They couldn't afford to make a mistake right now. He took over his pack.

"Is there anything you can tell us about the task we're supposed to accomplish?"

He didn't want to appear too impatient but it wants the one point they needed knowledge on, more than anything else.

Deucalion, once again, took over.

"You will know in due time. For the moment, you need to prepare, to be ready for when the time come for you to accomplish it. What you need to understand is that, to succeed in our assessment, you must have complete knowledge of who your pack members are, their roles in the pack, the relationship between all of you and your place in this world. Only then, you will be able to pass the task set up for you and cement your place in our community and be protected by us."

"Protected?" Isaac piped up and then bit his lips because he hadn't meant to talk out of turn.

Thankfully, Deucalion didn't seem to mind the interruption and answered the question without hesitation.

"Yes, we don't only work as a police force to assess other packs and make sure they are no threat, but should any pack needs help, we can usually get them in contact with the member of our community the more in measure to provide that help."

Derek's breath caught because he hadn't been aware of that particular information. It was very good to know about it now and it would be a good safety net, should they ever find themselves in the kind of situation they had been in not too long ago. If only they had had the possibility of asking for help, they may have been able to stop Gerard before it went that far.

"Now," Deucalion started again. "There is no deadline for the accomplishment of your task, but I can only urge you to act as soon as you can, as we will be watching you and see if you should fail to take it seriously. Besides which, I'm sure you're as impatient as all of us for it to be over."

Stiles thought it was a rather large understatement. Of course, they would all be better off the quicker they found the solution and were judged. They would not be able to rest easily for as long as the other pack would be in town, even if they appeared to be way much gentler and civilized that Stiles had imagined them to be when they had been waiting for them to show themselves.

"Will you interfere?" Derek asked because he needed to know if he had to be more careful about leaving his pack member alone or if they had until they knew what their task would be before having to worry about an attack.

Deucalion shook his head.

"There will be no sign of us until the moment to accomplish the task has come, unless of course, your pack shows no dedication to prepare themselves. We would find ourselves forced to take measure to make sure you participate in the test, I'm sure you can understand."

"We will all take your assessment seriously," Derek assured them and he would damn well make sure it was the case because he wouldn't lose his pack to something like that, not when it was more than preventable.

"Then, if there are no more question," Deucalion finished. "We will bid you good luck and hope to see you soon."

Derek showed them to the door, showing much more hospitality than he usually did to his own pack but, while it didn't seem to matter to most of the alphas, Kali seemed to appreciate the show of courtesy. It was, in Stiles' opinion, a good thing to make sure all of them were as pleased as they could be. Even if it didn't help much it may make them be more mellow when time came for judging their performance. It sure as hell couldn't hurt in any case.

None of them had moved a muscle when Derek returned. It was Scott, surprisingly, that spoke up to ask a more than pertinent question.

"Is it me or did they imply that not all pack members were here?" he asked and looked around for answer.

Allison, who was sitting cuddling against him, nodded her approval as it was the same impression she had been under.

"It did seem so," Danny acknowledged. "Do you think they are talking about Boyd and Erica?"

It was a fair question and, to be truthful, Stiles' mind had gone there too but it seemed pretty unlikely. If they had been watching for as long as they thought, which was before Derek even told them, they must have known the two betas had decided to separate themselves from the pack, so that couldn't be it.

"I hope not," Jackson muttered. "Because if so, we're fucked."

Lydia elbowed him.

"What?" he demanded. "It's true. We have no idea where they are. They didn't exactly send us a postcard."

"There is no reason to be vulgar," Lydia said with disdain. "But if no Erica and Boyd, then who are we missing?"

Derek shrugged because he had absolutely no idea. The alphas surely couldn't mean for him to turn more people during the testing period but he knew that now was not the best moment to think about it.

"We need to take the rest of the day off," Derek said, surprising everyone as they all thought he would make them hash and rehash everything until they were dead on their feet. "We have had a lot of information dumped on us in very little time. Take some time to relax and, tomorrow, bright and early, we decided what we need to do."

All of them approved, knowing their alpha was right. However, Stiles opted to stay behind as the others left, Isaac telling him he would get back to his own place as he was in no more danger. Stiles nodded, knowing that it wasn't that Isaac didn't like spending time with him but mostly because he wasn't feeling all that comfortable basically living at Stiles' house without the Sheriff's knowledge.

"You think we can do it?" Stiles asked, his eyes begging Derek to reassure him because, even if he did like to be optimistic usually, and absolutely loathed to share his fear with anyone, he couldn't help being afraid of what a failure would mean for him and his friends.

"Yes," Derek answered gruffly. "If it had happened just after Peter's… death, we wouldn't have made it but now, now we are a pack. We may not have everything figured out just yet, but we're a family and that's the most important."

Stiles couldn't help but smile and burrow himself into Derek, as he was practically lying on top of him, the alpha absently caressing his arms, as if he was comforting a child in need of reassurance. Stiles closed his eyes, letting himself be calmed down until sleep ended up taking over. His last thought, which he would have forgotten come waking hours, was to wonder why it was a sensation of security and not excitement that took over him whenever he found himself it this position.

* * *

Allison knew, as soon as she crossed the doorstep of her home, that she needed to tell her parents all about the new information the pack had received. The alphas pack hadn't said anything about bringing outside in the known but she supposed that, if they were against the hunters knowing about them, they would have told the pack not to keep them in the loop anymore. Considering they had been watching, they no doubt knew about their alliance.

The ambiance at the dinner table was arctic, as she related them the afternoon's conversation. She could see how much her mother hated the thought of having her involved in all this and the accusatory glares she kept on sending her father, who tried to appear as if he hadn't noticed it at all. She knew it wasn't the case but she kept her mouth shut and picked at her food, her stomach too messed up for her to actually eat normally.

She excused herself as quickly as possible and practically ran to her room, trying to occupy herself and stop thinking about what her belonging to the pack was doing to her family. She mostly succeeded in taking her mind off the problem, until she heard raised voices coming from her parents' bedroom a few hours later.

She didn't want to be listening to the yelling, she wanted to put on her headphone and drown out in music the angry accusation her mother was flinging around and the arguing her father was responding with, but she just couldn't. It was like looking at a train wreck. You couldn't stop looking even though it was gruesome and all you wanted to do was look away.

Tears came to her eyes as she finally heard, even clearer than before, her mother's last statement.

"You better work it out or else…"

Victoria didn't finish her sentence, but let it pending. It was followed by the slamming of their bedroom's door and Allison could hear her mother's shoe clad footstep all the way down and the slamming of yet another door, the front one this time around. Then complete silence and she found herself frozen on the spot. For a second, she couldn't seem to breathe around the knot in her throat and then she took a shuddering breath and got up from the bed, where she was sitting cross-legged. She walked on unsteady legs to her parents' bedroom.

She bit her lower lip before opening it silently and took in the sight of her father sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at the ground. As soon as he heard her, he looked up and tears leaked out of her eyes as she saw how sad he looked. He had sounded angry before, and it had frightened her slightly, but she would have given anything to see anger on his face rather than the sorrow she was now witnessing.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she hesitated in the doorframe. "It's all my fault."

She couldn't seem to stop her tears from falling and the guilt was almost choking her. Her parents had never had any problems before she decided to join the pack, so it was all because of her, because she had chosen her own happiness over her family's.

"What?" her father exclaimed and, when he saw her tears and heard the guilt in her voice, he immediately forgot all about his own sadness. "Come here, baby girl."

He opened his arms as he said it and Allison didn't hesitate one more second. She crossed the space between them in three steps and climbed up the bed, as she had done so many times when she had been a child in need of some comfort after a nightmare, to take refuge straight into her father's embrace.

The man hugged her close to him, maneuvering so that they were both in bed, his back against the head, Allison's head pillowed on his chest as she wept silently, words of apologies tumbling out of her mouth.

"It's my fault, it's because I joined the pack but I can't get out now. I can't abandon them. They are…"

"Family," her father completed for her as she hesitated before saying it, out of fear of hurting him ever more than he already had been. "I know princess, and it's not your fault. I made the choice of supporting your involvement with them and I don't regret it for a second. I could never regret helping you be happy. Your mom and I… we don't have the same vision of the world we live in. It has nothing to do with you, our beliefs are different and it's becoming more apparent as time goes by. That's on us, not on you, okay?"

He kissed her on the head, as she was slowly calming down thanks to her father's words and nodded her understanding his point. He kept his nose in her hair, closing his eyes and taking comfort in her scent and her closeness. The tears he had been fighting against were beginning to escape his closed lids as his daughters' crying had been the last straw – he had always hated seeing her sad – but he didn't want her to know so he didn't disentangle himself from her.

"I love you daddy," he heard her say, her words muffled against his shirt and he swallowed around the knot in his throat.

"Love you too, Baby girl," he answered in kind, keeping her close to him.

It felt so good to have her against him and he soon felt her weight more obvious against his chest, her breathing pattern changing and becoming more deep and regular. He should have woken her up, got her to get to her own bed, but he was selfish and he didn't want to be alone tonight so he just closed his eyes and let sleep take him over too, knowing Victoria wouldn't be back tonight… and probably not ever, at least not in his bed.

* * *

_Chris was running through the wood, almost blindly. He had lost the road a while ago and was getting out of breath as he had been running for quite a while now. Eventually, he stopped, trying to catch his breath, his heart rate elevate from more than just the exercise. His whole body ached and he had to suppress a sob. God, it had never been this bad._

_As he looked around him, he realized he had no idea where he was exactly. He knew the woods pretty well, but he wasn't cocky enough to believe he was aware of every corner of it and couldn't get lost. Actually, he was pretty certain he was lost. While he could probably find a way out by himself, he didn't want to._

_"Peter," he called out, knowing the other teen would probably be able to hear him or, if not him, one of his family member, who would then alert him._

_He just had to be patient and hope for the best. He sat down on a rock and waited for a while, listening intently to any sound that may betray the presence of another living soul around him. He knew the woods were not frequented, mostly because they were Hale property and only the members of this family would be found here. The only exception tended to be the few kids who were, sometimes, dared to go inside but that usually didn't happen in the middle of the night._

_Eventually, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps and he looked up in the direction they were coming from right in time to see Peter run towards him, looking worried._

_"What's wrong?" he asked and, for once, there was no trace of his sassy attitude, as he seemed to understand something was terribly wrong. "Chris?"_

_He was almost to him when Chris stood up and, without a single word, breached Peter's personal space and dropped his head on his shoulder, fisting his hand in the pajama shirt the werewolf was wearing, apparently too anxious to change before coming looking for his friend._

_Peter hesitated for a second. He and Chris were close, yes, but it wasn't exactly in their habits to be so touchy-feely, at least not for Chris, not unless they were playing around but he could feel the young hunter was upset and, without any further debating, he wrapped his arms around the other teen and squeezed, wanting to give him some comfort._

_Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The moment he hugged back, he felt Chris wince and heard him muffle a cry of pain. Peter's eyes flashed dangerously because he knew what that meant. Without even stopping to ask for permission, he lifted up Chris' shirt and was greeted by an impressive collection of bruises, looking extremely fresh and he now knew exactly what was wrong. All he wanted to do was go and kill Gerard. However, he had to fight down the urge because Chris was way much more important._

_"What happened?" Peter asked, keeping his voice calm, even though there was murder in his mind._

_Chris took a shuddering breath and looked at Peter, eyes bright with unshed tears._

_"He knows," he let out, biting back a sob and it was painful for Peter to hear so he just attracted the other teen back into his arms as Chris finally lost his battle against tears. "He knows we're friends and he said if I don't stop, he's going to kill both of us."_

_Peter just held his friends as he was too bewildered to do anything else. He wasn't exactly shocked to learn that Gerard was threatening to kill him, that had been expected, but Chris…. The man was even more of a monster than he had thought and it scared him because he could live with the fact Gerard was gunning for him, but he couldn't be responsible for Chris' life being in danger._

_Chris was taking comfort in his friend's closeness for what he knew would be the very last time, because there was no way around it. He couldn't put Peter in danger by staying friend with him and he knew his dad would make sure he was actually staying away. It hurt, because Peter was just about the only friend he had made. It was difficult when you moved around all the time. There was no other choice, though._

_He was startled by the arrival of other footsteps but, as Peter hadn't reacted, he knew it couldn't be a threat. He looked up to see a couple approach them. He disentangled himself from Peter, who looked kind of wrecked himself, and wiped his eyes. Peter's parents were looking at him with sympathy and he just didn't know what to tell them._

_"Why don't you come home with us, Chris?" Peter's mom proposed. "You can stay for the night and we will discuss what to do."_

_Chris was shaking his head vehemently even before she finished talking. While there was nothing he wanted more, he knew it just wasn't possible. He couldn't put all the family in danger like that and there was no telling to what length his father was ready to go._

_"I can't. There is nothing to discuss. I have to stop hanging out with you," he said, looking at Peter and putting all the apologies he could in his eyes, because he didn't want his friend to think it was an easy resolution to take for him._

_"We can go to the police," Peter's father tried to reason with him. "You can't stay there when he's obviously a danger to you."_

_It would have been nice but he knew his father well enough to know it wouldn't work. No accusation against him would stand._

_"He's too well-connected," Chris explained, taking a step back even as Peter's eyes appeared to be pleading with him. "I'm sorry," he said again before running the other way and not answering the Peter's call…_

_… he was running towards the house even as flame went up, his heart beating way too loudly in his own ears, but still unable to cover the screaming coming from inside. Voices, lot of voices, all pleading to be let out. Children, women, men and Peter, Peter's voice, louder than the others, not begging for someone, anyone, to let them out but calling out Chris' name, as he had that night in the wood, as if knowing the hunter was there but there was nothing at all Chris could do, except watch the flame eat away the house and he had to put his hands on his ears not to hear the scream anymore and then, there was an explosion and…_

Chris woke up with a start, his heart in his mouth, as he was trying to erase the last images he had just seen, trying to forget everything he had dreamt about because it hurt, it hurt so badly and he didn't know how to get past it, even after all these years.

"Dad?"

He startled as he heard Allison's voice coming from just beside him. He had been so engrossed in his nightmare that he had forgotten for a minute that his daughter had gone to sleep in his bed. God, he had never meant for her to know about all of this.

"Just a nightmare," he explained to her, turning towards her to see her worry-filled eyes.

He smiled at her, or at least tried to, and motioned for her to lie back down.

"Don't worry, I'm okay. I promise," he lied, trying to appear convincing and, while she didn't look as if she completely believed him, she didn't argue and lied back down.

As he lied down himself, completely and not just against the wall this time around, she immediately cuddled up to him and he wasn't stupid enough to believe it was for her own benefice. He maneuvered to kiss her on the head, his heart warming at the concern his princess showed towards him.

"Night, Baby girl," he murmured before closing his eyes, not caring about the light still filtering from the corridor; it wouldn't hurt anyone anyway.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5/12 (+epilogue)

What little time they had had for rest had well and truly ended after the visit from the alphas. Derek had made it more than clear that, from now on, they needed to work on what was required of them to be able to complete the task they would be given soon. Granted, they still had no idea what it would be but they had been told enough to give them a starting point.

They all met the day after, once they had time to process and integrate everything they had learnt and sleep on it, taking the night to decompress and allow them to think more clearly about all this, on a well-rested mind.

Jackson, surprisingly, had proposed himself to look up for any information available on the territory. He thought he would be more suited to look for things like acts of property or legal documents because of his father's position in town. Of course, while he knew how to find these documents and consult them without raising any flag, he also knew it may take some time to find them, as he had to work completely alone, unable to go to his father for help. It really wouldn't do for Mr. and Mrs. Whittemore to begin asking questions about why he wants to know about Hale properties.

For the moment, his research hadn't given any result but, he wasn't relenting and was certain he would end up finding something. Derek's approval of his endeavor had been well-received by the young man and Stiles could see the progresses he was making when it came to belonging to the group and work in tandem with them. That had to be the one good thing that had come from all this business with Gerard.

Derek had asked both Lydia and Stiles to concentrate less on the alphas pack in itself, now that they had met them in person, but focus more on what kind of test they would be given. The problem was, it was kind of difficult to find as there was no evidence of past trials in any book, mostly because only the wolves who had been put through them would know about it and they were not the kind of people who would write books to describe their experiences; who knew, maybe the alphas ordered anyone who passed their assessment to keep their mouth shut when it came to their modus operandi, so that others would still be in the dark when their turn came. It seemed like a fairly obvious solution.

Stiles had begun browsing chat rooms in the hope of finding a threat that could, possible, be talking about such task but, quite frankly, he deemed it a pointless endeavor, as most people who used these things were not actual werewolves but mostly just role players who liked to pretend. Still, it wasn't as if it could hurt and they didn't seem to find anything, anyway.

The only one of them who appeared to have the most luck was Danny. Now that he knew all of their first names, he had been able to find their complete identity as, as surprising as it was, these were their real names. It hadn't been particularly easy but, as they always travelled together, with a bit of ingenuous hacking, he had been able to find their trace.

A group, composed of five people, with first names known, was easy to follow as they registered into hotels or rented apartments. As they weren't outlaw, they didn't make a show of hiding their whereabouts and why would they, really?

Once he had their names, he quickly found their history. They were mostly normal people, with no history of endless violence as they could have imagined. Both Kali and Deucalion, the eldest of the group and the ones who seemed in charge, appeared to be born wolves, who had lost their pack to hunters. As all other members of their pack had died out, the role of alpha passed onto them but, without a pack to keep them grounded, they would have become wild very quickly.

Their trace was lost for the general population back then but it was easy to imagine it was the point they had been recruited by the alphas pack of the time, while some of their members either joined another pack, wanting to settle down, or died.

There was not a lot to be found about Ennis. He had a normal childhood up until the point Danny found an article talking about how, at the age of twenty, he was hunting deer, one of his hobbies, and was attacked and mauled by what the medics had thought to be a wolf, when they compared the marks on his body to archives of bite marks. It was strange, as it was not a region known for being wolf territory. He had healed pretty quickly, almost miraculously the hospital personal said, but they never found the animal responsible for the attack.

Considering these information, Derek worked it out it must have been a rogue alpha, one that Ennis killed afterwards and took the status of. He would have been recruited at that time, probably.

The last two, Ethan and Aiden, had been well-know to the Social Services, not because they were delinquent but because their parents had been reported, more time that Danny liked to think about, for child endangerment, as they were known drug users. There was nothing in what he had found that could explain how they had become werewolves, as all Danny could find was that they had run away from their home when they were sixteen.

After that, all their name began to appear, not all together, but scattered all across the country, at various crime investigation. Sometimes as bystanders, sometimes as witnesses, there was even a time when the twins had been deemed suspects but the absolute lack of evidence against them had caused the authorities to drop the lead and let them go.

Stiles really didn't like the new information. As he looked at the various investigation report Danny had printed, he saw that most of them concerned a violent death or at least, serious injuries. That meant the task they would be given was more dangerous that what they may have predicted. Of course, the time in between these reports also meant that their assessment didn't always end quite that badly as there was, at one point, a one-year gap between their names popping up into police archives. They wouldn't spend so long without assessing anyone so it stood to reason that a few packs had succeeded, without any death reported.

"Okay," Stiles summarized at the end of Danny's exposition. "Basically, their test could be potentially fatal but, at the same time, they don't have to be. So it's not an immediate fail, as they said, but it really has to do with our abilities to complete it."

"I don't like it," Derek growled, his eyes flashing as he took in the stack of information their hacker had found out. "There are too many variables. We don't know anything about the test yet and we don't know if one of us is going to get attacked anytime soon."

"They said we wouldn't," Scott cut him, reminding him of their encounter with the group.

"Scott is right," Isaac added, showing his support. "They didn't look like they were lying. I couldn't hear anything like that in their heartbeat."

"That doesn't mean anything. All werewolves are capable of learning how to hide a lie from their own specie," Derek said. "We have no idea if they were telling the truth. Even if my instincts tell me they were, I want you to act as if they weren't, as if they could attack us at any time. Better be paranoiac than dead."

All of them approved but Lydia raised a good point.

"And what can we do against an alpha, as a human?" she asked, indicating Stiles, Danny and her.

She didn't include Allison because, quite frankly, she was more than capable of defending herself with her hunter training and she had weapons at her disposal. All she would have to do would begin taking them with her anytime she went out.

"You need weapons," Derek stated.

"Yes," Danny approved. "But where are we going to find them and learn how to use them?"

Allison raised her hand.

"I can ask my dad," she said. "I'm not sure he will be okay with giving you any as long as you don't know how to use them, though."

Which was pretty responsible on Chris' part, as a weapon in the hand of someone who had absolutely no training was more likely than not going to result in injuries and not on the potential aggressor either.

"There is always someone supervising at the shooting range. Normally, they stay out at the reception, but they are available to teach for beginners," Stiles proposed. "Take some lessons with them and, once you're capable of using them, maybe ask Chris to set up at test and, if you manage it, he'll probably accept to land you some weapons."

Allison nodded her approval, knowing her father would most certainly appreciate the plan and help them with it. He didn't want kids to be defenseless against an enemy, after all, and as long as they could handle the equipment he gave them, he would feel better knowing they had, at the very least, a gun filled with wolfsbane ammunition in it.

"Good idea," Derek stated. "You do that."

For once, he was more than glad for their alliance with the hunter, as he doubted Stiles' dad would have been quite that accommodating with providing his sons' friends with firearms. They would have had trouble explaining their need for them and it would hardly be the kind of things he would feel comfortable stealing.

"I'll go ask him," Stiles said and Allison frowned, not because she minded, but because it would be easier for her however, Stiles had a good reason. "Well, I already know how to use them and he knows it so I can get one for myself at the same time."

He shrugged and Allison nodded at him, understanding his reasoning about it about and told him his father wouldn't be home this afternoon but he would come back around dinner time, so Stiles could come afterwards.

Stiles thanked her for the information, already resolving to go there at that time, and the conversation derailed again, on what they had learnt and what kind of measures they should be taking to ensure they wouldn't find themselves among the percentage of packs who had failed and been gifted by death and disbandment.

* * *

It was eight in the evening when Stiles left his house, leaving behind at note addressed to his father, telling him he was with Scott in the eventuality the man got back before him, which he seriously doubted because he wasn't planning on staying at the Argent house all that long. Still, it didn't hurt to take some precaution.

He arrived at the house and rang the bell, hoping he wouldn't be disturbing anyone. Allison had told him to come by after dinner but he wasn't certain that Victoria would appreciate being bothered by Stiles who she really didn't like any more now than she had before, no matter how helpful he had been in taking down Gerard.

When the door swung open, he had expected to see Allison but was, instead, greeted by Chris, who motioned for him to come in. He followed the man inside and straight in the direction of the garage.

"Allison told me," Chris said, explaining exactly why he knew where to go for their conversation. "It's a good idea and I can get you a gun but I have to wait to give any to the others. I've some knives that could be helpful. It may not do much against an alpha, but…"

"Better than nothing," Stiles admitted. "I'm surprised Allison is not here?"

Chris grinned at him.

"On the phone, with Scott," he explained. "It usually takes a while."

Stiles snorted. He wondered what the two of them could still have to talk about on the phone when they had seen each other during the day but he had stopped trying to understand how Scott's brain functioned where the huntress was concerned. It was better that way because the love he felt for her was borderline obsessive. If Stiles didn't know Scott as well as he did, he would be worried about the young woman's safety.

It didn't take all that long for Chris to find exactly what kind of weapon worked better for Stiles, mostly because he had seen the young man, both on the shooting range and in action, and he already had a good idea of what he wanted to give him. He also gave him a casing containing wolfsbane bullet, mostly because the gun wouldn't prove to be all that helpful without the right ammunition.

He also took the occasion to give him a silver knife, which had Stiles' eyebrow raising in question.

"Silver does nothing against werewolves, that's true," Chris admitted. "But there are some things out there that may be repelled by it and it's not as if any other metal would work better anyway."

Stiles nodded and looked more closely at the knife. The lame was pretty sharp but it was the handle that attracted his attention, because of the inscription. Silver may not have been especially ideal to chase werewolf but it was damn obvious that the knife was just for that, as it held the Argent motto _Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent._

"It's beautiful," Stiles said, because it really was but it felt wrong for him to take it, considering it was a family relic, as the inscription suggested. "Chris, I can't take that. It's… it should stay in your family."

Chris shook his head. It may have been a family heirloom, but he really didn't mind Stiles having it. He would feel better if the young man was as protected as possible and he knew it was a good weapon to have on him.

"I insist you keep it, Stiles. Besides, you may end up protecting my daughter's life with it, so it kind of stay in the family, at any rate," he explained as he knew he needed at least one argument to convince the boy, as flimsy as it was. "You can tell Lydia and Danny to stop by whenever they want."

Chris walked Stiles back into the living room as he was talking and directed the teenager to sit down on the couch, telling him to make himself at home, as he was getting him a soda form the kitchen for him.

Stiles did as he was told and looked around. He was wondering where Victoria was. Was she in her room, the same way she used to do when Lydia and he came there for their research session, doing all she could not to see them? She usually still showed up for a second or two, but Stiles hadn't seen her at all, or around town for that matter, in quite a while. Allison hadn't said anything about her being there either. Then again, unless it had to do with the pack, the young huntress didn't really talk to them about her mother. He could understand that. After all, it wasn't as if he talked a lot about his dad with the rest of the group either.

Chris came back with a soda can for Stiles and a beer for himself and sat down at his side. The hunter sighed as he let himself fall against the back of the couch, closing his eyes, and Stiles took the time to really observe him for a second.

The bags under his eyes were even more pronounced than during their chat in his car and it worried Stiles, because it was a sure sign that the dreams hadn't stopped at all. He looked absolutely worn out and if it didn't stop soon so that he could get some uninterrupted sleep, he would end up making himself sick.

"You still can't sleep?" he asked, aware that it wasn't really any of his business but Chris probably hadn't suddenly decided to talk about it to his wife or daughter and he didn't have any one else to talk to so the least he could do was give him an opening.

Chris opened his eyes once again and looked at his young guest, shaking slowly his head against the back of the couch, as if too tired to sit up straight. That concerned Stiles even more than anything else.

"No," he sighed. "I'm apparently stuck relieving my last year of high school and… well, anything having to do with the Hale fire."

Stiles frowned because it seemed more and more unlikely that it was simply a natural succession of dreams. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more going on there, even if he and Chris had already agreed it was probably not tied to the alphas. Stiles couldn't help feeling as if they had dismissed the idea too quickly. If he had more details about it, maybe…

"Is there a common theme? I mean… except for Peter," Stiles ventured, kicking his shoes off at the same time and bringing his feet on the couch, resting his chin on one of his knee, turning to face Chris completely.

Chris seemed to take the time to think about it, even thought Stiles doubted he really needed to. He must have been capable of telling him everything from the top of his head, and had indubitably thought about looking for a connection way before Stiles had asked for it. The stalling was probably because he didn't know how to put it in words.

Eventually, he shook his head.

"Not really. The only thing I could see as a connection is that each dream is always separated in two parts. The first part is always a real memory, from back when we were friends. Nothing special, really, not all of them at any rate. Some days we just hung out together, others were a bit more… important, I guess, but no, not one special moment. The second part is always connected to the fire and it's not… not actual memories, I guess more of a nightmare. The night we stopped Kate tend to happen differently it these dreams. The other night, I actually saw the fire as if I was there, which…"

"Which you never saw in reality," Stiles finished for him and he was thinking hard about what it could mean, as there seemed to be a pattern.

The only thing they all had in common was Peter's presence, he supposed but… that was not enough. There had to be something more, something maybe less obvious, something about the moments he was relieving must have a common denominator, an important one even though he couldn't see it. What could it be? And if it had to do with the alphas, what? From what they had to say, the spell served to guide the pack so why would Chris be caught in the middle of it?

"Don't try too hard, Stiles," Chris said amused, watching the concentrated face. "It's okay. I'll be fine. It's probably going to stop soon enough."

Even though his words were supposed to be reassuring, it wasn't difficult for Stiles to see he didn't believe a word of what he was saying. Unfortunately, Stiles couldn't really see a way to help.

"You still haven't told anyone else?" Stiles hazarded a guess, even if he knew the answer already.

"No," Chris admitted. "Victoria… she wouldn't understand, she had no idea Peter and I were friends and I would rather it stayed that way. Even if she believes in the code, she will always see werewolves as monsters. Besides, she's… away a lot at the moment."

Stiles tried not to read too much in between the line of the admission, but he also knew the Argent were having couple problems and the fact that she had left when she knew the alphas were in town was pretty telling. Still, it wasn't any of his business so he wasn't going to ask. However, while not telling Victoria was one thing, Allison was something else, completely.

"What about Allison?" Stiles asked. "She would probably be glad to know she's not the only one in the family to have said to hell with the rules," he joked because that was actually how the huntress would see the things, he just knew it.

"I… I'm scared, I guess," he admitted in a whisper and Stiles' eyes widened because what the actual fuck?

"Why?" he asked incredulous, curbing his instinct of swearing.

"Peter… he's still the man who killed so many people, killed her aunt, even if she deserved it. He tried to kill Allison, would have killed her that night if Derek hadn't stopped him. How am I supposed to tell her he used to be my best friend? What would she think?"

A look in the hunter eyes told Stiles that the man was really terrified on his daughter's reaction is she was to ever learn about it and he just couldn't understand it. Allison was nothing if not open-minded and she simply adored her dad. There was no way it would change anything for her. He was going to tell him just that but it did turn out that, in the end, he didn't need to.

"I would think that I don't know how you've managed to go on after last year," a voice said from the entrance of the room and both men turned to her, startled.

Stiles knew Allison could be very silent when she walked, so it wasn't that much of a surprise that he hadn't heard her but Chris should have been able to notice her. How long had she been listening to them talk without saying a word, without being noticed by her father? Granted, the man may have been less on his guard in his own home, but it certainly showed how tired he was.

"Allison," Chris began as she walked in the room, straight to the couch and leaned over the back to wrap her arms around her father's neck, tucking her face in the crook of his neck.

Stiles smiled slightly at the part-surprised, part-delighted look Chris was sporting and guessed it was time for him to leave, to let them talk about it on their own. It was something personal, a family matter that he shouldn't be privy of. He got up and slipped his sneakers on.

"I'll let myself out. See you," he said quickly as he retreated, hearing the answering goodbye and he left the house, making sure to have both his new gun and knife with him.

He drove all the way home and, as predicted, his father's car wasn't in the driveway yet. He snatched the note he had left on the kitchen counter on the way up and tore it apart, dumping the fragments in the trashcan. He made sure all doors were locked and went to his room, hiding the gun and the knife in two different places, hoping they were hidden well-enough so that his father would be unlikely to find them by mistake.

He hesitated for a second, debating whether or not he should tell Derek about his suspicions but, in the end, he decided it would be better if he did. The alpha risked to be quite put out if he didn't tell him everything he thought when it concerned the pack and, most importantly dealing with the alphas. Grande, he had no idea if it was the truth but, better be safe than sorry. Perhaps Derek could even help him decide one way or another, have an idea about what was going on.

He took his cell phone and quickly typed a text, telling Derek his father wasn't home and if he could stop by for a while, because he had something to ask him about, something he needed his opinion on.

Stiles knew that Derek would probably prefer him not to be so cryptic but he didn't want to explain everything in a text message, as it would be too complicated. Besides, it would be an occasion for the two of them to spend some time together.

It didn't take very long for Derek to arrive and, considering the fact that he was half-naked, Stiles deduced he had partially shifted and came running instead of taking the Camaro. Well, he supposed he would at least not have to worry about explain any sighting of that car in the neighborhood to his father. It was a pretty noticeable car, after all, and he would see it immediately should he come back while Derek was still here.

He had let his window open, mostly because he knew very well that Derek wouldn't use the door, so he was in no way surprised when the werewolf landed on his carpet. This time, he was waiting for it and managed not to jump.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked immediately, not wasting any time with niceties, much to Stiles' disappointment, who would have wished at least for a kiss but he wasn't exactly shocked by the lack of greeting.

"I've just go back from Chris'," Stiles started. "Remember last time, when I said I wasn't convinced that he wasn't affected by the spell Kali put on the town?"

Derek nodded because he did remember that conversation pretty clearly, yes.

"You still think that?" he asked because it was the only reason he could think for Stiles to talk about that right now.

Stiles acquiesced before explaining himself.

"Yeah… I think he may be affected by the spell. I can't tell you the details, there are pretty personal and he told me these things in confidence. I don't want to betray his trust but, yes, I'm pretty sure that the spell Kali talked about is responsible."

Derek didn't ask him for the details. He wanted to, absolutely, but he also knew that if Stiles gave his word he would keep these things to himself, it wouldn't be fair on the teen to put him in the position where he would have to break them. Still, it seemed a bit farfetched to Derek.

"Kali also said that only pack members would be affected," Derek reminded him, pointing the flaw in his theory.

That had been the reason Chris had also thought it had nothing to do with it but an idea had germinated in Stiles' mind while he was on his way back home and the more he thought about it, the more he believed he was right.

"I know but… listen, Chris has helped us all along with Gerard, going against his own family for that. He's still helping us now, he has all the same information we have through Allison and he's making sure we're protected. Kali said the spell was supposed to guide us, tell us things we didn't know…. maybe, maybe Chris is supposed to be part of the pack and that's why he's affected."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6/12 (+epilogue)

Stiles' suggestion hadn't exactly been welcomed by Derek. Even with Chris helping them, and Allison being part of the pack, the alpha didn't think it was possible for the hunter to be in the pack as well. There weren't exactly a lot of evidence pointing in that way, especially since Stiles refused to talk about the details, but the teenager was pretty sure he was right. Still, he couldn't do anything about it for the moment and would have to wait for a more opportune moment.

Derek hadn't stayed very long after that, mostly because the Sheriff was to come back not too long afterwards and he didn't want to get caught. He left quietly, unseen, by the window and Stiles went to bed, too wired up to sleep, but wanting to be at his best the next day, as they would have to continue looking for indication of what the task they needed to accomplish was.

The night dragged on as the teen tossed and turned in bed, unable to find sleep until the very early hours of the morning. If only he could use his summer vacations to actually rest…

* * *

A few days later, after hours of unfruitful research, Derek and Stiles were spending one of their rare moments together, at the Hale house which, for once, was devoid of any other visitor. They were lounging on the couch, a light chitchat coming from Stiles, when the calm was shattered and Derek straightened up, frowning slightly.

"Derek?" Stiles asked, worried.

However, he shouldn't have bothered as Derek immediately shook his head, giving him a shadow of a smile to tell him it wasn't anything dangerous.

"It's Danny," he explained. "I'm just not sure what he's doing here."

That was a very good question, as Danny wasn't supposed to have anything to report to Derek today. He had done all he could when he had looked for information on the member of the visiting pack and as long as they didn't have any particular place they needed to look into, his skills as hacker would be completely useless so he had been given a few vacation days, so to speak. Hence why the fact he was there was particularly puzzling.

Danny knocked on the door. Usually, pack members came in without that kind of courtesy but, as he was perfectly aware of Stiles and Derek spending the afternoon together and not wanting to walk on them at the wrong time – he had had his fair share of awkward moments like this with Jackson and Lydia, thank you very much – he preferred to wait until Derek invited him in.

When he did, Stiles was gratified to see he didn't look particularly freaked out and didn't seem in any hurry either, which would have been the case should anything have happened that could be considered problematic or dangerous. No, he just seemed a little bit disconcerted.

"Hey, Danny boy!" Stiles exclaimed and Danny rolled his eyes but stayed quiet, having worked out a long time ago that there was no point in telling Stiles, once again, to stop using that nickname. "What brings you here?"

The raised eyebrow Derek sported told the young man that he too wished to have the answer to that inquiry and it wasn't as if he would have waited before telling them anyway. He was the kind of person who liked to get straight to the point, unlike Stiles who took pleasure in getting the conversation going in all direction before actually coming to the important point.

"I'm not sure how relevant it is and that's why I waited before saying anything or bringing it up at a pack meeting but… I'm having some very strange dreams recently, always about the pack," he said and Stiles startled almost imperceptibly.

Derek glanced at him, much more aware of his reactions than Danny and the pieces clicked together in his mind. He filled the information in a corner of his mind and resolved to think about it later on as, for now, it was Danny who was more important.

"Why is that strange?"

Because, yes, if several people had dreams like these, they could find it strange but, as far as Danny knew, he was the only one so Derek had to know why he would find that occurrence strange.

"It always comes back to the day I agreed to join the pack and some of the events afterwards. They are more like memories than dreams, really, but always the same kind, night after night. I mean, a few night, I didn't see anything wrong. It seemed pretty normal but it has been way more than a few nights now and nothing has changed…"

Derek nodded, understanding the trouble, but not certain where it was going. There was really only one possibility, the one that Stiles had advanced a few days earlier, but it had seemed pretty farfetched then and, if he was honest, it still did.

"We really need to know more about that spell," he said, indicating that he would be looking into Danny's problems. "Stiles…"

The young man nodded, knowing that he was the one who would be taking care of that. And he had a pretty good idea on where to go looking.

"I'll talk to Deaton," he said, knowing that if anyone would be able to shed some light on it, it would be him.

He may have not known too much about the alphas pack up to know, but maybe if he stopped thinking about them and just concentrated on the spell, it would be different. After all, he had seemed pretty knowledgeable about magic so there was a good chance he would at least know what kind of spell may have been used.

Danny didn't stay very long after that, as he had apparently something planned with Isaac, but he hadn't wanted to wait any longer before warning them about that. Derek and Stiles stayed alone and Danny had barely closed the door after him that Derek whirled around to face Stiles.

"Argent is having the same kind of dreams," Derek said and it wasn't a question, not really.

He was just asking for confirmation, as Stiles' reaction during Danny's account had already betrayed him. The young man, knowing there was no point in lying, just nodded.

"Yeah. Look, I'm not… I'm not going to tell you what exactly but, yes, it's the same kind of things, memories more than dreams…"

"Of the pack?" Derek asked skeptically, because really, he just couldn't see it.

Stiles hesitated for a second but, quite frankly, he couldn't just leave it at that. He wouldn't give any details, but he could at least provide Derek with a clue.

"He was friend with Peter…," Stiles reminded him and Derek stayed silent for a second, taking in consideration what he had just learnt.

Eventually, he nodded.

"We need to find out what kind of spell it is, what exactly it does but… maybe you were right," Derek admitted even if it cost him because he had problems seeing it.

However, if all the clues pointed in the same direction, he wouldn't go on thinking it was wrong. He refused to bury his head in the sand, not in this situation, not when the entirety of the pack was at stake. He would face things as they come, even if he really couldn't understand them.

Stiles nodded, glad to see that Derek saw things his way finally, but a bit stunned that Danny was having these same dreams. If the spell was to tighten the bonds of the pack, why would it target Danny? None of the other pack members had reported anything and Stiles most certainly hadn't been the recipient of a series of dreams like that so why Danny? He wasn't any less involved than the others, he had certainly participated as much as any of them since he had joined them.

Since he had joined them, in the middle of their troubles with Gerard and the kanima, when they really didn't have time to think…

"Derek?" Stiles asked, not wanting to believe they could have overlooked something like that but pretty sure he had the answer of that question.

The alpha looked at him, a questioning frown on his handsome face.

"You have welcomed officially Danny in the pack, right?"

The way Derek's eyes immediately widened and the sheepish look that followed suit was answer enough.

"Shit," the man swore under his breath. "We were so busy…. I need to do it," he said.

"Yeah," Stiles approved. "You really do. Well, I should go to Deaton. We probably know how to stop Danny's dream, but…"

He didn't follow with the end of his sentence but the intent was there and Derek approved, letting Stiles go and do his thing while he immediately phoned Danny, explaining the problem they had realized. They, of course, weren't sure it would be the end of Danny's dreams, but they had to do it anyway so the sooner the better.

* * *

Stiles called Lydia on his way to the veterinarian clinic. It may not have been a discussion he needed her here for, not at this point in time, as it was more about talking to Deaton and convince him to tell him all he knew about the kind of magic spell used by the alphas, rather than a research session, but he knew she would appreciate being her for the explanation. Besides, it really wasn't all that fair on the young woman to only call her when they needed her; it was beginning to feel too much as if they were using her.

They both met in front of the clinic, leaving their respective vehicles on the small parking lot in front of it. There was, luckily for them, no client in the practice when they entered the building. Deaton looked up and Stiles chose to think he was just imagining the resigned look he took on for an instant before welcoming them warmly.

"What can I do for you, today? I've been looking for some more information on the alphas pack, as Scott asked me to, but unfortunately, it's not a very well-documented subject."

Stiles nodded, because it had to be expected but, at the moment, he quite frankly couldn't care less about it. They had stopped looking into that direction for the time being, choosing to prioritize as, apparently, they wouldn't have a lot to do with them on a personal level and the challenge they issues tended to change from pack to pack.

"Actually, we were wondering if you knew anything about the spell they use. Well, at least, any idea on what kind of spell it could be and what the effects we could expect are? I mean, we know it's something that's put on the whole town but should only affect people to help getting the pack closer."

Deaton looked at him intently, without saying a word, and Stiles would have hurried him, pestering him for an actual answer, but the glare Lydia threw him told him not to. He had been so focused on the verbal answer he had missed the clue that the man didn't seem to hesitate about telling him, but appeared deep in thought. He apparently was going to answer the question but needed to talk about it first.

Eventually, he nodded, as if finally reaching a decision on how to tell what he had to say. He first made sure to go and turn the sign on the door, warning any potential client that the clinic was closed for the moment, and took them in a room behind the main place. The man didn't seem to be in a hurry or want to get a particular book from the shelves but, apparently, it was better if the public couldn't see them if they had wanted to drop a pet or something while he was talking to them.

"I cannot answer with absolute certainty," he began slowly, not wanting to give them false hope. "As the spell used would depend on the users and what they want to accomplish, as well as the kind of magic they are more suited to. However, from what you have told me about Kali and the information she gave you, I assume it must be some kind of mind magic, affecting mostly the subconscious."

"Dreams, for example?" Stiles cut off before looking a bit sheepish at his interruption but Deaton didn't seem to be too put out.

On the contrary, he looked proud.

"That's a possibility, yes," he said and Lydia looked at Stiles with piercing eyes.

Apparently, Danny hadn't told her anything about his dreams, which wasn't all that surprising if he hadn't thought them to be anything strange up to now. Since Chris wouldn't have told anyone else either, Lydia had no way of knowing someone had problems of this sort.

"And the only people of the pack are affected?" Lydia asked. "Because neither I, nor Jackson, have been affected."

She didn't mention anyone else, probably more than aware that, apparently, someone had been since Stiles had jumped to that particular conclusion. Still, it was strange to see that some pack members had been spared.

Deaton had apparently thought about this possibility when he was thinking before, as he was able to formulate at theory on the spot.

"If the spell is to guide your pack to become a more cohesive unit, the people affected may not be those who are the best inducted in your group," he explained. "It may be to help those who are on the fringe to get more included…"

Stiles swallowed as he had a pretty good idea of the message Deaton was trying to pass on, or at least he hoped so as it would help him some.

"For example, if someone was acting as if they were part of the pack, helping protecting us or… I don't know, helping us in any way, but not actually having been formally inducted in or, really, not even thinking themselves as part of the pack?" Stiles asked and Deaton nodded.

"It's a definite possibility. Even if someone's not thinking they are part of the pack, but the magic thing they are… the dreams may help them realize they should be. You should also look into the hierarchy and construction of a pack," Deaton added. "You kids have done great up to now, but none of you know how an old pack is supposed to work. Derek is the one who has the more experience but even he doesn't know everything as he hasn't been told before the fire. If the alphas pack has been judging others for centuries, they may want to see a more old-fashioned hierarchy."

Stiles hadn't thought about it but, apparently, Lydia already had as she just nodded.

"Yes, I've been trying to find what I could on the subject. I don't have a lot of information just yet, but I did retrieve some that looked pretty interesting. We will have to make sure all the important roles are filled."

Deaton gave the young girl a sincere smile and it seemed that the conversation was over. Still, he asked for Stiles to remain behind for a while. He had apparently told them all he knew, though, and Lydia decided to leave immediately and see Stiles at a later date, instead of waiting for him. They would have to talk to the whole pack about what little they had found out anyway, so they would see each other the day after.

"So, what's up, Doc?" he joked and was rewarded by a raised eyebrow.

The man looked into one of his drawers, without answering, and took something out, before handing it to Stiles, who studied it. It was a little cylindrical container, which seemed filled with a kind of powder. Deaton also handed him a book, a magic book by the look of it.

"Does it have anything to do with the alphas pack?" he asked as he had no idea why these objects were handed to him and couldn't see another reason for it.

Deaton shook his head.

"No, though it could help you out in the long run. Just read the book and try. If you have any question afterwards, you can come to me. Now, I've got some work to do."

Stiles didn't think he actually had any work to do at the moment, but didn't bother contradicting him and left with a last thank you, heading straight home, curiosity burning.

The curiosity was only exacerbated as he opened the book and read the first few paragraphs, talking about people having a spark, people who could use magic present in the environment to help them out. Stiles couldn't help the flicker or hope that mounted into him, because he would love to have something more than just his intellect and gun prowess at his disposition.

When he began reading the first chapter, which talked about mountain ash and the various ways it could be used, he smiled because he knew what Deaton wanted to tell him and it was a challenge he was more than ready to take on.

* * *

Derek began the meeting by telling everyone that Danny had been formally inducted in the pack the night before and, when incredulous glance were sent his way, he couldn't help the slight blush as he explained that, with everything that had been going on at the time, he had completely forgotten about it before now.

"I didn't dream last night," Danny said when the inquiring look from Stiles gathered questions from all around.

Lydia appeared to understand.

"So this is why Stiles knew that the spell could manifest itself in dreams," she stated, a bit put out that Danny hadn't come to her and Jackson but glad to have the answer to the question she had never had the occasion to ask the day before.

Both Derek and Stiles looked at each other, knowing what it meant. They had been right, the dreams were there to bring people together into the pack. Of course, the others didn't have the hindsight of that particular conversation.

"Why are we talking about dreams?" Jackson asked and the others also looked at the pair with various degree of curiosity.

It was Stiles who decided to explain, as Deaton had explained it to him.

"Apparently, the spell the alphas pack put on the town doesn't only affect member of the pack but also people that magic itself think should be part of the pack. It guides them to us, so to speak."

It was crudely explained but it did give all the information they needed to so it was sufficient. It wasn't as if they actually needed a whole lecture on it, they just wanted to know the most important details.

"What kind of dreams?" Allison asked, a nagging feeling at the back of her mind, and she looked straight at Stiles, who just smiled at her as he could see the hope in her eyes.

It was Danny who answered, though.

"Dreams about memories involving pack members, some of the bad things that happened also. It was strange, as if they wanted to make sure I remembered both the good and the bad."

"To let go of the past," Lydia cut, thinking about it. "The good points to make sure you understand you have a place among us, but the bad times to make sure you can let go of it first."

It did make sense, Stiles though, and it explained why Chris would dream about the Hale fire, as it was most likely more a hindrance to his accepting a place in the pack than the ordeal with his father would be.

"My mom is having strange dreams like that," Scott said out loud, making all eyes turn on him.

Stiles felt Derek, who was sitting right behind him, stiffen completely which, in turn, made him frown because, seriously, what the hell? It would be a damn good thing if Melissa was part of the pack. For one, there would be another adult, which they desperately needed, and Derek sure as hell would be more at ease with Melissa than Chris.

"She's dreaming about the pack?" Derek insisted, as if he didn't really believe it.

Scott nodded, apparently unaware of the turmoil his alpha was in and, to be fair, Stiles seemed to be the only one to notice, probably because they were close enough to be touching at the moment.

"Mostly about me and her, then interrupted by what happened at the station. Allison, Isaac and Stiles also feature a lot."

"Make sense," Stiles interjected. "Since she doesn't really have a lot go memories with the rest of the pack. But, hey, it would be cool if she was one of us!"

The others seemed to agree with him, at least those who knew Melissa a bit more personally because Jackson seemed perfectly unaffected by the news. At least he wasn't objecting to it, which was already a good thing.

"We could go to her more," Isaac said, as he had taken quite a liking to the woman, mostly because she had taken to mothering him whenever he was at her home.

"Yes," Derek said and if Stiles hadn't felt him go stiff before, he wouldn't have known he wasn't being entirely truthful. "You should talk to her, Scott, see if she could handle being a part of the pack and all that the consequences it entails."

Yes, Stiles supposed it could be a problem with some people. She needed to be okay with acknowledging Derek as her alpha, as her leader and, as he had explained to Chris back when Isaac had been changed, an adult could have some problem with accepting that. He just hoped Melissa wouldn't be part of those because he really wanted her to be okay with that.

"We have another thing to talk about," Lydia said, taking command now that this part of the discussion was over. "Deaton has given us the advice that we should find out the normal hierarchy and roles of the pack members."

There were questions all around, all except for Derek and Allison, Stiles noticed. Apparently, the hunters also knew all about the old ways. He really shouldn't have been that surprised about the kind of information they were privy of anymore.

Derek took the stage, once again.

"Yes, it's something I know a little about. My parents let the kids grow up without worrying about that, as it's normally something only the adults need to be concerned with, since they are the ones who take on the roles they are needed for. As they were a lot of adults in our pack, the teenagers weren't told either. I don't have a lot to go on with, but I suppose we should make sure to find what we can."

Everyone nodded and the meeting dwindled down, little by little. Stiles would have wanted to stay but Derek seemed seriously preoccupied and, even after he asked him, didn't appear to want any company so he went back home on his own.

* * *

Allison and Scott arrived in front of the young woman's house and Scott stopped dead in his tracks a few feet away from the entrance, appearing to be listening to something. Allison turned to him, worried.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, concerned.

Scott seemed to hesitate.

"I should go. I think it would be better if you went home alone. And Alli', you can call me if you need to talk."

The huntress looked absolutely stricken but Scott just kissed her on the forehead and disappeared. She didn't want to get home, she was certain she knew exactly why Scott didn't want to get there and it hurt too much. She wasn't ready for what she would find inside.

Of course, stalling wouldn't change anything so she took her courage in hand and opened the door to find her mother in the living room. That, in itself, wasn't all that unusual, except for the fact she hadn't been home for quite a few days now. The main problem, though, was her suitcases at her feet.

"You're leaving," Allison said before her mother had even time to talk to her. "You're leaving."

Repeating it didn't help any but Victoria just stood up and looked at her daughter with sad eyes. She didn't want to leave her there, but she knew that Allison would never forgive her if she made her leave the town. She, on the other hand, couldn't stay here.

"I'm sorry, Allison," she said with sincerity. "But I can't stay here. It goes against everything I believe in to be allied with the pack. I'm not leaving your life, Allison. I'll always be a phone call away if you need me."

Allison had tears streaming down her face as she allowed her mother to take her in her arms. She was numb. She should be angry, she should be screaming at her mother, but she couldn't feel anything except grief. When Victoria let her go, her face was also wet but it didn't stop her and there wasn't anything Allison could do except watch her take her suitcases and go to the door.

"Mom!" she called, needing to know why her dad wasn't there in that moment. "Does dad know…?"

Victoria looked at her for a second before answering.

"He's known for a while it was coming," she told her daughter. "But I knew he wouldn't be there. It's easier that way."

She left the apartment after that, telling Allison she loved her one last time and Allison let herself fall down on the couch, crying, all the while wondering how she would tell her dad that Victoria had decided to leave for good.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7/12 (+epilogue)

_Derek was sprinting through the woods as fast as he could, sniffing around as if he was looking for something but he couldn't see to remember what it was, or who it was. However, he knew he couldn't stop before he found it, otherwise something absolutely terrible would happen. How he knew that, he had no idea, but it was a certainty. Looking around, he could see he was alone, which was strange. Shouldn't his pack have been there, with him, helping him out? There was no trace of them anywhere around, though. Where were they? But he couldn't take the time to concentrate on that right now._

_He stopped pretty abruptly as he heard some noises, coming from another direction. Instead of continuing on the path he had been headed on up to now – and why was he headed there in the first pace, he didn't know – he began running in the direction of that noise. It was the very first sign he had been given, a clue on which way to take, and he wasn't going to let it pass him by without checking, he couldn't afford to take such a risk._

_The woods around him appeared menacing, making the hair on his arms stand, shivering in fear. It was strange. He had always felt at home out there, what with them being on his family property but, right now, he would have given anything to be out of the forest, in the clarity of the sunshine instead of the dark cluster of trees, where the specimens were taking more threatening shapes by the minute._

_All of the sudden, he stepped into a clearing and, as he took in his surrounding, he stopped dead in his track. His eyes widened as they noticed the reinforced-steel cage in the middle of the place. Inside of the cage, injured, emaciated, looking weaker than ever before were Boyd and Erica. They seemed to be pleading with him to release them. However, he couldn't get to them right now, it was impossible, even if he knew he had to…_

Derek woke up with a start, catapulting out of his dream, heart pounding crazily. He was no novice when it came to nightmares. God only knew how many of them he had suffered from after the fire. It had taken him months before he was even able to sleep through the night once again and, even know, after all these years, he still had them from time to time. He supposed it would never really completely go away, even though having a new pack around did help quite a lot, easing the pain and making him focus on happier tome. On the other hand, this one was different, he just knew it.

Never before had he ever actually dreamt of Boyd and Erica, even after their sudden departure. He had been sad, of course, even if he wouldn't have admitted it to the rest of the pack, ever. However, his subconscious had never been taken over by it and played with it. Besides, that dream had a quality to it he couldn't seem to define or understand. It was as if it was something else, something more than just a dream.

The solution came to him in a rush. The spell they had been all looking for, been experiencing for some. Yes, a magical component may have explained the feeling he had had. Up to now, only the humans around him had had their dreams oriented by the spell. A werewolf, though, was an inherently magical creature and, therefore, could be more sensitive to the effect the magic had. He hadn't felt it when the spell had been done, because even if he had been caught in it, he hadn't been affected personally. It had stayed dormant for a long time.

Now, it had woken though, and he could only see a single reason for that. Boyd and Erica were alive and, as the spell was there to guide them to a united pack, he could only infer that the two betas were supposed to be part of his pack, no matter their decision to get out of it. However, they should have been the ones affected by the spell normally, the ones forced to come back to make the dreams stop, which wasn't the case in that particular occasion.

What had changed for the modus operandi of the spell to switch like that? What was different in this case for the same enchantment to work differently? Unless… unless Boyd and Erica couldn't come back to him because something was preventing them from doing so, someone was preventing them from doing so. Maybe they were in danger, maybe there was something more to this dream than just telling him they were still a part of the pack. Maybe the cage wasn't that far off the truth. Someone was detaining them, and he was beginning to have an idea of who it was. That could be what their task was: finding Boyd and Erica and rescuing them, insuring that, once they had done it, they would have a complete pack.

Derek's jaw set and his gaze took a steel-like quality because someone was hurting his betas and it, quite frankly, didn't matter if they had run away, he was still responsible for them and he refused to let them down. He needed to go and scout the woods, to see if he could find any indication considering their location.

* * *

"Come on, Scott. It's a bad idea for me to be there. I love your mom, really, I do. She rocks. But we both know I'm pants at being crafty with her, she knows me too well. If I begin talking to her about the pack, she's going to be unto me in seconds. She'll know something is wrong and if we go all four of us…"

Stiles didn't finish his sentence but both Isaac and Allison nodded their agreement. Scott didn't seem all that convinced though which, okay, he couldn't blame him for, really. Stiles had known Melissa McCall for way much longer than either Isaac or Allison. Actually, longer than the both of them combined but he also knew he wasn't her favorite person in the world.

She didn't hate him, don't get him wrong. She even loved him, he knew, but she didn't really like him all that much. It was a strange state of affair, but he had gotten used to it and it didn't bother him all that much. He knew she would be there for him, no matter what, and that was the most important thing.

Still, for something like scooping her, getting to see if she was ready to take a more active role in their pack, to become part of it instead of contenting herself by being on the fringe, waiting to help should anything happen that required her service as a nurse, or even as a mother, it wasn't a good idea for him to be there.

"But, Stiles," his best friend pouted, really wanting him to be there for that part.

Allison, bless her, took his hand in hers and patted his arm comfortingly.

"Stiles is right," she approved. "It's best if it's just the three of us here. She will think we're ambushing her otherwise."

Scott still pouted a bit, but did nod his understanding eventually. Stiles sent a warm 'thank you' look to Allison, given her a smile and he noticed that, when she answered with one of her own, it wasn't all that happy. However, he didn't want to ask her in front of the others. If she was making the effort to look as if she was perfectly fine, he wasn't going to be the one letting everyone know it was just pretend.

He watched the three of them go, on their way to Melissa McCall who should be coming home from her shift, hoping she would accept a place in the pack. Once they were out of his sight, he checked his phone, as he was waiting for Derek's call, considering they were supposed to meet that night and wanting to make sure there was no change of plan. It was a good thing he did.

There was a text message and he opened it. He nearly gasped out loud, but was able to contain the reaction at the news about Erica and Boyd and then frowned as Derek told him he had decided to look for them on his own but, then again, he shouldn't have expected to be taken along. It wasn't as if he could have helped out or anything and he did understand that Erica and Boyd's safety was more important than their date. Still, an apology for missing it wouldn't have hurt.

He shook his head as he left the little café the four of them had met in and went straight back home, as he didn't have anything else to do. He didn't see his father's cruiser when he arrived in the driveway and a look at his watch showed him he had probably only just missed him, as his shift was set to begin in only a few minutes.

Well, having the house all to himself wasn't a bad thing. He could seize the opportunity to practice some more with the mountain ash, which he still hadn't gotten the hang of, but was becoming less and less problematic as time went by.

He made himself dinner first. He didn't make anything big, only a simple sandwich as he wasn't all that hungry to begin with and really didn't feel like cooking just for himself. He took the place to his room and found the book he had been studying almost religiously since it was given to him. Perching himself on his bed, he began rereading about the kind of result you could expect when manipulating mountain ashes, and immerged himself into the writing, eating distractedly for a while, until he was jolted out of his concentration by the doorbell.

Stiles dropped his book on the bedside table and frowned, looking down as if he could see through the floor if he concentrated hard enough.

Well, at least he knew it wasn't Derek or any other of his werewolf friends, since they didn't appear to know how to use a front door, with the exception of Jackson when he was accompanied by Lydia. Of course, since Stiles knew the two of them were on a date tonight, it couldn't be them so he had no real idea. Unless, of course, the alphas pack had decided to stop by for another chat, more personal this time, but he very much doubted it as they had actually kept their word and stayed away until now.

He padded down the stairs to the front door and opened it. One would think he would be more careful, but he had long stopped believing the threat would actually be polite enough to ring the bell. He was right, it wasn't a threat. Still, he hadn't been expecting to see Chris standing on his porch.

"Hey," Chris said, slightly awkwardly, which told Stiles it didn't have anything to do with the alphas, as Chris was the consummate professional when that happened.

Stiles invited the man in and closed the door behind him.

"You want something to drink?" he asked because, even if he was extremely curious, it was no reason to be a bad host.

Chris shook his head and sat down on the couch in the living room, where Stiles had directed him. Stiles took a seat at his side and looked at him expectantly.

"Victoria left," Chris said out of the blue, leaning his elbows on his knees and dropping his head in his hands. "For good this time. She's asking for a divorce."

Stiles wished he could say he was surprised but that would be a lie as it had been a while coming. Still, of course, there had always been a chance that things could get better. He knew that Chris had thought that much or, at least, hoped so. Now, apparently, there was no more chance of that happening. It must have sucked, they had been together for a long time.

"I'm sorry," he said because, really, what else was there to say?

Stiles put his hand on Chris' shoulder, trying to give him a modicum of comfort, scooting closer until their tights were almost touching. He felt one of Chris hand coming up on top of his and he squeezed.

"Are you okay?"

It was a stupid question, but he was seriously no good at doing this. Talking or even listening, yes, but comforting someone just by being here, not so much. He felt a bit out of his depth to be truthful but Chris had come to him and he wasn't going to let him down, even if was feeling uncomfortable.

Chris shook his head, still not looking up, keeping his eyes trained on the floor.

"She didn't even tell me herself," he said bitterly. "She had Allison do it."

Stiles didn't know what to answer to that because, seriously, that was fucked up. Victoria should never have had Allison in the middle of it. The young woman must have already been suffering because, really, what child didn't when their parents decided to split? He remembered the way Scott had been, and his father had been a real headcase. With two parents she actually loved very much, it must have been hell.

Not knowing what else to do, he just tightened his hold on Chris' hand and was taken aback when the man finally looked up, bloodshot eyes meeting his, and turned, throwing his arms around Stiles' neck and hiding his face in his shoulder.

Stiles suffered an instant of freezing panic, because he seriously was not expecting that, then he took a hold of himself and returned the embrace, remembering that day at the shooting range, and attracted Chris closed to him, repressing a sigh as he let his chin rest of the man's shoulder.

Chris wasn't crying, which Stiles found himself profoundly thankful for, but he did seem to be soaking comfort from the teenager and the least Stiles could do was let him, and show him there was still someone there for him, someone who wasn't his daughter, someone he didn't have to pretend to be alright for.

He didn't know how long they stayed like this but, finally, the vice-like grip that Chris had on the back on his shirt loosened and the man, after taking a few seconds, to regain his composure, separated himself, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry," he apologized but Stiles waved it off because he didn't have anything to be sorry for.

There was a few seconds where they didn't talk and then Chris spoke up again.

"I wouldn't say no to a glass of water," he admitted and Stiles gave him a quick nod, because it was at least something he could do.

Stiles got up and, as he passed in front of Chris to get to the kitchen, let his hand trail on the man's shoulder as a quick gesture of comfort, proving that he hadn't had a problem with the situation. He quickly filled a glass with mineral water and got back to Chris.

The man drank it all in one go, apparently really thirsty, and Stiles was given the occasion to take in his appearance. The divorce wasn't the only problem he had at the moment and, if they didn't find a way to stop the nightmares very soon, it was probably Chris would end up in a hospital bed.

"You haven't been sleeping," Stiles almost accused because it was getting almost dangerous for his health by now.

Chris shook his head because there was really no use in lying as he must have looked pretty much like a zombie right now. He had really no excuse except that he couldn't handle the nightmares anymore and he was almost afraid to go to sleep at night.

"I think I was wrong when I said it was something normal," he admitted. "I can't, Stiles. I can't sleep. It's…"

He shut himself up but Stiles understood anyway. It was just strange that, while both Danny and Melissa had been affected, it had never been to this extend. Actually, it really hadn't been bad at all. Maybe it was because they didn't have the same history, they didn't have the same obstacles to get over with than Chris had. Danny's dreams had stopped the moment he had been officially introduced to the pack and Melissa's would probably go the same way the moment she accepted. Stiles knew that Derek had accepted he had been right when he had talked about Chris being part of the pack but he hadn't had the time, nor the courage, to talk to him yet.

Still, it couldn't wait anymore, not if they didn't want the man to lose his mind. Derek had no idea of how bad it was because Stiles hadn't wanted to break confidence but maybe he should have. It could have helped.

"Okay, come on. I need to tell you something," Stiles said, getting up and Chris followed, not sure where he teenager wanted to go.

"Stiles?" he asked as they were getting to the first floor.

Stiles shrugged.

"All my things about werewolf and any other research I've done is in my room and I… this is something to do with the alphas pack, from what I've worked out."

Chris nodded. He may have been reluctant to believe that before but, quite frankly, right now he just wanted it to end and he didn't care anymore. If Stiles had an idea, even if it seemed farfetched, he was ready to try.

Chris stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, until the teen told him to sit down and he made a little place for himself on the bed. He had to admit, it was weird to be there. He had never expected to find himself in this room any time soon. He looked around him, taking in his surrounding, and saw books and papers on the supernatural just about everywhere he looked. Something on the table caught his eyes and he raised an eyebrow.

"You've been using mountain ash?" he asked because, as a hunter, he knew of course what it was used for, in relation to werewolves at the very last.

Stiles looked at him and he bit his lips.

"I'm not exactly up for the barrier just yet, but Deaton seems to think I've the spark," he explained. "He says that mountain ash is a good beginning for magic."

Chris smiled at the visible enjoyment of the young man and his excitement at being able to use magic. It was good to see him act his age, for once, as he tended to have to be more mature than most people his age, because of what he had been through and what he still had to do for the pack.

"And how are you doing?"

"It's… difficult, but I'm getting there. Now," he said, plopping down on the bed and looking at Chris. "You're probably not going to believe me but… I've got a pretty good idea of what the dreams mean and, I promise, I haven't told anyone about the content of these dreams, since you didn't want me to, but Derek guessed you had some after my reaction to Danny saying the exact same thing and, I'm sorry, but lying to a werewolf is not exactly easy and…"

"Stiles!" Chris interrupted as the kid began to babble. "I'm not mad. You can tell anyone you want as long as it helps stop them."

Stiles' eyes widened. Well, at least he had the answer of how bad that was because that was very uncharacteristic of him. Oh, well, at least he didn't have to worry about that part anymore.

"Well, from what we've realized, the spell the alphas pack put on the town is to help the pack come together. Now, we thought we were already there but, apparently, it wasn't the case. Danny had dreams because, as we've found out, with everything going on at the time, Derek hadn't formally inducted him in the pack. The moment he did, the dreams stopped. Now, you and Melissa – Mrs. McCall both have them so we think it may be magic's way to tell us the two of you should be part of the pack."

Chris blinked. Whatever he had been expecting from Stiles, it hadn't been that at all. The young man, seeing his reaction, was preparing himself for a debate, with a list of argument trying to prove he was right, when he was stumped by the hunter's answer.

"That… makes sense, actually."

"It does? I mean, yes, of course, it does."

Chris smiled, as he had visibly been able to surprise the young man.

"Yes. All the memories have to do with supposition of my joining the pack. Peter, his parents, they all at one point told me I was welcome in their family. Even if it never happened, there had been talk of it back then and all the memories I've been seeing have been these occasions. I'm just not sure why all the visions of the fire?"

And that was true. If magic wanted him to think joining the pack was a good idea, why makes him see the worse moments of it all?

"You're supposed to be able to let go of the past, of the bad time, to be part of the pack, to be comfortable with us."

"Let go of what my sister did?" Chris asked, because that was personal, more than personal and Stiles could see in his eyes that, even if he had nothing to do with what she had done, he couldn't help feeling guilty about it.

"It wasn't your fault, Chris," Stiles stated, not wanting to believe the man still felt guilt about that but he knew it was easier said than done to let go of such a tragedy.

Chris stayed silent for a while before letting himself fall on his back, legs still on the ground, but looking up at the ceiling, not meeting Stiles' eyes.

"I know what my father was doing," he said. "I knew he would warp her because she would do anything not to end up in the same situation than I. I should have gone to someone…"

Stiles frowned.

"Your dad would have gotten out of any kind of trouble anyway. I mean, he had no problem getting that complaint dismissed so…"

"What?" Chris exclaimed, straightening back up and looking at Stiles inquiringly. "What are you talking about?"

Stiles looked like a deer caught in the headlight for a second before realizing that Chris had never known about that complaint that was made to the Social Service. That was… less surprising than it should have been. He got up and went to his drawer, looking for the file that he had kept hidden underneath his clothes, because he didn't know how to put it back without getting caught and he didn't want to actually destroy it and play into Gerard's game even after his death.

He handed it to Chris, not really looking at the man.

"We were looking up information on Gerard, back when he became principal and Danny saw that something had been erased from his police record. We looked into the archives of the station, to see if anything was still there… Only Lydia and I saw that file."

Stiles stayed silent after that, for a while, as he saw the man read through the report, not knowing what to say but, as the silence stretched and Chris didn't make a move, even though he must have already read through the entire thing, Stiles got worried.

"Chris?" he asked tentatively, and his breath caught when he saw the tears in his eyes as the man looked up to him.

"That was… it was just after… after my dad found out about Peter. Peter's parents…, they knew, they must have been… it must have been them," he stammered and Stiles was beginning to think there was something else about it that bothered the man. "If Gerard knew they tried to… It would explain why Kate…"

"No!" Stiles interjected, knowing where the man was going and not wanting him to continue on this path.

"Yes," Chris countered. "There was no reason to target them, except for that. God!"

"Don't go there, Chris," Stiles practically begged as tears began streaming down the man's face as he took on even more guilt than he already felt and the exhaustion, coupled to the emotional response to the news was too much for him to keep a close lid on his emotions. "Don't do that to yourself. You aren't responsible for what they did. None of this was your fault. It's on Kate and your father, not on you."

The man didn't answer, he couldn't. He was almost choking on his tears, his respiration irregular, as he was trying, without much success, to calm himself down.

Stiles sat back down on the bed and practically forced the man to lie down, half on the bed, half on his laps and held him as he sobbed, breaking down at the thought that what had happened to his best friend, and his whole family, may have been in some way his fault. Stiles' eyes stung as he was trying his best not to let his own tears fall at the misery the man was radiating.

After a while, the only sound left in the room was their breathing and a glance down told Stiles Chris had cried himself to sleep. He couldn't make himself wake him up, not when he needed the rest more than anything else. Eventually, he himself succumbed to the lure of sleep.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8/12 (+epilogue)

An insistent ringing startled Stiles out of his sleep and, as he took a few seconds to come out of his daze and realize where he was and that it was his own cell phone which was ringing. He grabbed it as he saw that Chris too had been woken and he spared a glance at the clock first.

It was already morning, thankfully early enough that his dad was not home yet, not with the longer shift that were still in effect as they didn't have enough replacements for all those who had died a few months ago. It would have been a bit difficult to explain to his father.

He looked at his text message and saw it was from Lydia, the young woman telling him they had to talk later that day, along if possible. Stiles spared a second to worry but he knew it would do him no good right now. He would have his answer later.

"Damn," Chris swore as he felt the aches in his muscles from the position he had been sleeping in. "You should have woken me up, Stiles."

He really should have. Chris couldn't help feeling embarrassed by the way he had completely lost it the night before. Poor Stiles should have had to witness that. Still, the shock of these new information coupled with his lack of sleep had made it impossible for him to control his emotion.

"You needed the sleep. Plus, good news, you apparently slept through the night," Stiles added, trying to add a bit of lightness to the situation, as he could see Chris was really uncomfortable.

Chris blinked as he realized that it was true. He had actually slept the whole night through, without being woken up by his own subconscious playing trick on him, for the first time in he couldn't remember how long.

"Guess so," he said, letting out a small huff of breath. "Still, sorry you had to see that."

Stiles shrugged, not wanting to embarrass the man any further by commenting on it but, really, he hadn't minded that much. At least, he had helped and that was all he really wanted. He got up and stretched.

"We should probably get down," Stiles admitted. "I'm not sure what time my dad's coming home but it would be better if he didn't catch you in here. Would be a bit problematic to explain."

Chris laughed out loud at that. Yes, the last thing he wanted to do was explain to the Sheriff why he was in his underage son's room that early in the morning, both in the same clothing they had been wearing the day before. That would be more than just a little awkward and would probably involve a pair of handcuffs and a shotgun.

"I should go," he said because really, yes, he should but Stiles seemed not to agree with that.

"Let me at least make you some breakfast," he pleaded. "Come on, I'm a good cook and it's better than eating alone."

Chris knew he should have insisted about leaving right now but, quite frankly, having breakfast with company was tempting and he knew Allison was supposed to stay the night at Lydia's, which was why he had chosen that particular evening to talk to Stiles.

He nodded his agreement and followed Stiles in the kitchen.

"You think I should tell Derek about…," Chris stopped himself midsentence, not knowing how to put it in word, but knowing Stiles would understand what he was talking about.

Stiles shrugged because, really, he didn't know whether or not it would be a good idea. Maybe, in the long run, it would be better if Derek knew so that, if he found out at a later date, he couldn't accuse them of withholding important information but, on the other hand, he didn't know how the alpha would take it and it was really not the time to present a divided front.

"I don't know," he admitted. "It's your choice, in the end. But you'll probably have to decide soon enough because Derek is going to talk to you soon, I'm sure. We can't wait very much longer before we have to be ready. And all of us have to be together when that happens."

He was talking as he was cooking, Chris helping setting the table, even if he had to look into all the closets to find the cutlery.

"You think Derek is going to be okay with me being a part of the pack. Because I doubt it. He doesn't trust me, not completely."

Stiles couldn't exactly contradict him but he knew that the alpha was making all the efforts he could to get over his mistrust of the hunter. It wasn't easy, Stiles could understand that, but he still had to get over it. He needed to, or the alphas pack was going to destroy them.

"He'll have to. But I know he'll do anything to save the pack, especially if he's right about the task we have been set."

That caught Chris' attention because he had absolutely no idea what Stiles was talking about, as he hadn't known they had gathered some new information on the subject. He stopped what he was doing to look at the young man, who didn't seem to notice his trouble.

"What task are you talking about?"

Stiles looked up from his pan and realized he hadn't had the time to tell him everything the night before. He had planned to tell him after explaining the part about him being part of the pack, but they had gotten sidetracked and not only a little.

"We think they have Boyd and Erica, they're holding them prisoner. Derek has gone to look for them, see if he can see where they are being held. We think we have to free them, but…"

He let his sentence unfinished, not sure how much more to explain. He had no idea if it was even the right task. It certainly seemed so, as it would make sense, but it appeared to be a bit too easy, unless there was something big being done to stop them. They probably would have trouble getting to them, which would be the reason they needed everyone in the pack to be there and ready to help.

"That… how long have you known that?" Chris asked, slightly hurt by not having been told about it immediately.

He knew he wasn't a part of the pack, not yet, but he had done everything he could to help them, both before and now, and he had thought they would keep him in the loop, especially Stiles and Allison but neither of them had mentioned anything about the two betas, who he had thought had left town.

Stiles saw it and winced because it was kind of his fault, but he quickly reassured him.

"Derek texted me about it yesterday, just a bit before you came actually. He has apparently dreamt about it but he didn't tell me any details. He just left to look for them. I'm not sure about a lot right now. I promise, I'm telling you the moment I know more."

Chris nodded, grateful and slightly sheepish about jumping to conclusion. He was going to apologize to Stiles, even though the kid must have been getting tired of hearing him doing so, when he was cut by said teen.

"Breakfast's ready!" he exclaimed and it was time to forget all that was going on just for a little while and just enjoy a nice breakfast.

* * *

After having seen Chris out, Stiles went straight to the Hale house. His father still hadn't gotten home, so he had left him a note to explain he was out with his friends and would be home not too late that night. If there was a problem, he promised he would either call or text.

Stiles needed to know if there was any word of Boyd and Erica, because Derek still hadn't gotten back to him about it and he was really beginning to worry. Of course, he knew that if the alpha was deep in the wood, he wouldn't have any phone coverage but, still, he would prefer if there was some new and he knew that Derek would probably head straight home.

Derek wasn't at the house when he arrived but he decided not to let that bother him. He couldn't stay still, though. It would be impossible for him not to do anything in who knew how many hours it would take for Derek to come back, especially considering the man didn't seem to want a television, something about it not being good for the unity of the pack. Yes, because the Hale family never had a television, right? As if he would believe that. However, when they gathered at the house, they usually didn't just want to watch a movie. If that was the case, they could go to any other house, or the cinema.

Well, he could at least make himself useful by doing some cleaning. His dad would probably be way less than happy if he realized that Stiles didn't have a problem cleaning his boyfriend's house without even being asked to, but that he had to practically beg the kid to get him to do so at home. Of course, that was because for the little time he was actually at home, he usually liked doing one of the fifty other thing he could do.

He put on some music on his iPod and got himself working, losing consciousness about the passing of the time. He didn't know how long it had been when he was jolted out of his reverie by a laughing cough. He stopped dancing around the living room and whirled around, coming face to face with his boyfriend.

"Dancing, Stiles?" Derek mocked, because seriously, it wasn't Stiles' best quality.

Stiles shrugged with a pout.

"I needed to do something to pass time. I didn't know when you would be home," he explained, coming to give him a kiss.

It was chaste, brief, and Stiles wondered whether he should be worried because it seemed that it was more and more that way. He knew he would have to talk to Derek about it one of these days but he still hadn't gotten the courage to do so because he was afraid of the consequences that would follow.

Derek wrinkled his nose slightly and Stiles was about to take offense because, seriously, he had actually showered before leaving his house, when the alpha commented.

"You smell like Argent," he said and Stiles understood.

"Yeah, we spent the night together," he explained and then his eyes widened and he blushed, realizing exactly how that sounded. "Not like that, I don't mean…"

Derek snorted, interrupting what would probably have become an impressive babble fest.

"I had gathered. What happened?"

The question and tone were short and showed that Derek thought something was really wrong. He wasn't exactly mistaking but it was hardly the kind of problem he would have thought about, thankfully.

"Nothing special, we talked. But, Derek, you really need to have a chat with him, about this whole pack thing, preferably before he ends up in hospital."

Derek frowned. That didn't sound good at all. He had gathered from Stiles' previous comments that the man was having some problem sleeping but he hadn't realized it had been that bad. Danny had hardly showed any sign of being under stress and, from what he had seen of Melissa since then, neither had she.

"Is it that bad?" he asked, worried despite himself and it only amplified the truth about the reasoning that he must be part of the pack.

Stiles nodded.

"Yeah, it really is," Stiles approved. "Look, all I ask is that you talk to him, at least. See if it's what we think. Just try… please, Derek…"

Stiles was looking at his boyfriend with pleading eyes and Derek caved immediately, attracting the boy to him in a loose embrace and nodding against his head.

"Okay, I'll go talk to him. But we have to free Erica and Boyd first. I think I know where they are."

Derek seemed ready to call the cavalry and go there as soon as possible and Stiles felt a jolt of fear course through him because that was simply the worst idea ever. If rescuing the two betas was really the task they had been set to accomplish by the alphas, they needed quite a lot more preparation that they had had. They couldn't just go there like that.

"Derek, I want to free them as much as you but we're not ready," Stiles pleaded with him and Derek appeared ready to tell him off for even thinking about waiting. "Think about it, think about what they told us we needed to do before being able to accomplish the task. We have to have all the pack dynamics figured out, which we still don't have, especially with both Melissa and Chris in limbo like this. We need to sort this out and then we have to elaborate a plan because I doubt they are going to let us take them without any kind of obstacles to pass."

Derek looked ready to kill but, thankfully, the glare didn't seem directed at him, which Stiles could only be grateful to, because it did scare him some. He had progressively gotten more and more depressed as Stiles talked because he knew the teen was right but it didn't mean he had to like it.

"What do we do?" he asked because when his act first think later attitude didn't work, it was Stiles he looked to for a real plan.

"Okay, Scott is spending the day with his mother, trying to get her to agree to join the pack on a more constant basis, so that's one thing taken care of for now. We can't do anything on that front that he can't. Now, Lydia has called me to ask me to talk. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's important so I'll stop by her place to see what she wants to tell me. You, you're doing to talk to Chris and see if you can solve the situation on this side. I'll come by tonight and see if we have any new information that can help. I'll also try to talk to Jackson, seeing he's probably with Lydia and ask him about the territory and see where Boyd and Erica are from there."

Derek nodded, as Stiles seemed to know exactly what they had to do for the moment, much to his relief. It did reassure him that someone was there for the pack, to know what they needed, even when he didn't seem to be able to decide himself. He just hoped it would continue to be so, even after Stiles discovered what he had kept to himself since their last meeting. He knew it was going to be hard for the kid, but he also knew he wouldn't be capable to keep it a secret for too long now.

"Okay, go to Lydia. See what she wants to tell you. I'm going to see Argent," Derek approved and he was gone before Stiles even had time to say goodbye.

He sighed and called Lydia, asking if it was okay with her if he stopped by at the moment. Since she agreed, he was on his way before the end of the call.

* * *

When Derek arrived in front of the Argent house, he took in the open window but decided against it as he didn't really want to get shot before he even got to say hello to Chris. Besides, contrary to what Stiles seemed to think, he actually knew how to use a front door and a doorbell. He just preferred not to bother usually, as it stopped people from pretending not to be there to answer. That, and he just liked to startle Stiles for his own amusement, which he would never actually admit out loud to the teen.

He rang the doorbell and waited to be let in. As soon as he did, he heard Argent's footsteps resonate in the house, coming closer and closer and he was, therefore, not surprised when the door opened only moments later. Apparently, the man had been waiting for someone to visit. Stiles had probably told him he would make sure Derek stopped by and the alpha nearly snorted out loud because what Stiles wanted, Stiles got apparently.

"Derek," Chris greeted, his voice guarded and a bit surprised and Derek took in his appearance.

He had been a bit skeptical when Stiles had told him it was really bad but he could see his boyfriend had not exaggerated the situation. As a werewolf, he had more sense at his disposition than Stiles or Allison and he could see that the man was really not in good shape. He almost felt a stab of guilt. Stiles had told him quite some time ago about his suspicions of Chris being part of the pack. If he had at least come to see what was going on instead of being so sure it wasn't the truth, he could have spared Chris some pain.

However, time was not for self-recrimination. He had more important things to deal with right now.

"Chris," he greeted in return. "We need to talk."

It was straight to the point and he saw Chris smile lightly as he stepped out of the way to let Derek in the house.

"Stiles told me you talked last night," Derek began only to be cut right off.

"Wait!" Chris interrupted and Derek raised an eyebrow at that, especially confused when it seemed that the man appeared nervous.

In all the time he had known the hunter, he had never seen him anything less than perfectly self-assured. Even after killing his father, he had been sad, yes, but there hadn't been any trace of doubt about his decision. Now, though, it seemed as if something that bothered him. He also couldn't understand why it would be Derek he told.

"Before we talk about that," he began, as if trying to carefully choose his words. "I think there is something you need to know."

Derek frowned as he didn't like the tone of Chris' voice at all. Something told him that what he was going to learn right now was not going to be pretty and he had an awful suspicion that Stiles had known Chris wanted to talk to him about more than just the pack. He couldn't be mad at Stiles to spring that on him, though, the teenager always kept his words and if he thought it would be best coming from Argent himself, he wouldn't try to explain it to Derek himself.

Derek sat down on the couch, looking intently at Chris as the man began talking.

* * *

Stiles parked his car into the Martin's driveway and rang the bell. He was not surprised to see Jackson open the door because since these two got back together, there was really not a lot of time they didn't spent together.

What surprised him was the way he talked to him, friendly, far more than usual, with none of the usual disdain he had always showed, even as it began more to be more affectionate than anything else. This time, though, he looked as if he knew the news Lydia was going to tell him would affect him.

"She wants to talk to you alone," Jackson said as he seemed to be getting out and Stiles was wondering why.

"O-kay," he said carefully, already knowing he wasn't going to like it. "You got the infos about the territory?"

Jackson nodded.

"I've got the map, with all building and territory having ties with the Hales," he said briefly.

Stiles nodded.

"You'll have to take it to Derek, so he can see where Boyd and Erica are held. That's the task, apparently," he added when he saw the questioning look.

Jackson frowned, not liking it at all, but he still left as Lydia had asked him to. Stiles jogged up the stairs to Lydia's room and knocked on the door, letting the young woman invite him in first. When he entered the room, he almost believed that a hurricane had blown over. There were books and papers everywhere. Well, at least he wasn't the only one.

"Stiles," Lydia said. "I've something to show you."

She seemed pretty self-assured but, then again, she always was, even when she was preparing to break some bad news.

"I'm ready," he said. "Considering Jackson was nice to me, I suppose it's going to be bad."

Lydia nodded and motioned for him to sit at the desk, on the chair. She stayed on her feet, looking at him speculatively for a moment.

"I found out what Melissa's place in the pack should be, considering she wouldn't be attracted to us if she didn't have a role to fill."

Stiles acquiesced. It did make sense.

"Okay, that's good. We will have to find what's Chris' place too," he added, thinking to himself.

Lydia spared a second to look surprised and interested but decided it would be better discussed at another time.

"She would be the caretaker," Lydia said. "The old word is Lupa. Basically, it means she's the one who takes care of us, a pack mother."

Stiles smiled at that thought, because that role would fit Melissa to a T. He still didn't know what exactly Lydia thought would be the bad news though, because up to know, it was all good.

"Normally, the caretaker is the alphas' mate, the only exception being if he doesn't have one," she finished and Stiles received the news as a slap.

Lydia stayed silent for a while, letting him digest the news. He was less surprised than he should have been all thing considered, he mused absentmindedly. He knew that there was something wrong with his relationship with Derek, as the man was becoming less and less affectionate. Well, no, that wasn't all that true. He was less affectionate in the way of a lover, but more in the way of a friend. Their embraces, their kisses, they were less passionate than at the beginning, but more tender.

Of course, that explained a lot about Derek's reaction to Melissa's being part of the pack. Derek had to have known what it meant. Stiles couldn't help the anger that took over him at that thought. He was less angry about the fact Derek and he weren't meant to be – because that, he could handle as it was, after all, rare to find the one person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with on the first time – than about the fact he had had to hear it from Lydia instead of his boyfriend.

"Stiles?" Lydia asked inquiringly, a slightly concerned look on her face.

"I'm fine," Stiles said, not all that truthfully but he knew he would be, once he had some time to get over the fact that his relationship was over. "I can't say I'm all that surprised about the fact I'm not Derek's mate but…"

"But it still hurts," Lydia finished for him. "I'm sorry, Stiles, but you will find someone who will appreciate who you are."

Stiles smiled at her, appreciating the sentiment and glad that they were good enough friends to have remarks like that said between them without being uncomfortable with each other. It was a far cry from where they used to be at the beginning of high school.

"Thank you. Well, I really hope Melissa will accept because we will need all the pack ready to act and soon."

He steered off the conversation about him and Derek because he didn't want to think about it right now. He will have to talk to Derek about it and he knew he would have to do it soon enough, but that would be between Derek and him. Now, on the other hand, he had to bring Lydia up to speed.

So he told her all about the situation with Boyd and Erica and, while she didn't feel very charitable to them after their abandonment of the pack when they needed them the most, it didn't mean she actually wanted them to be hurt or even killed. She would have to look about all the other roles and how they could be filled so that they would all knew what was expected of them.

When she told him that, he also told her about Deaton having implied to him he was probably good at magic, that he could at the very least use it, once he had some training. It seemed to brighten her moods, as it was apparently something she had read about.

They finished their talk quickly after that and he went back home for a little while. He knew he had promised to see Derek afterwards but he needed to have a moment to himself, to prepare for the unavoidable break-up. He just hoped they could salvage their friendship.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9/12 (+epilogue)

Stiles still hadn't gotten the courage to head back to the Hale house, uncertain of how the conversation Derek and he ought to have would turn out and unwilling to take the risk just now. He knew he was only delaying the inevitable but he couldn't help himself. He couldn't make it last forever but, for a few hours, he could still pretend everything was going to be alright, even though his very first relationship was on the verge of ending. He had known for quite a while that they wouldn't be endgame, so to speak, but it didn't mean he wouldn't have liked for it to last some more, at the very least until the end of the summer vacations. Maybe then, with school picking up, he would have had something else to focus on.

Unfortunately, for once, it appeared that Derek had been more impatient than him to have answers to their questions and he showed up only a few hours after Stiles got back from Lydia's. As usual, he came straight to his room – and maybe Stiles should begin closing his window when he didn't feel up to visitors. Derek took one look at Stiles and he realized that something was very wrong.

"What happened?" he half-asked, half-demanded, worried.

Stiles shook his head. He wasn't ready at all and, for the very first time, he found himself wishing Derek would have stayed away for a little while at least. Still, he could take some time to gather his thought while Derek explained how things went on his side.

"Later. First, tell me how it went with Chris," Stiles asked.

Derek frowned, not liking the change of subject. However, he knew he could humor his boyfriend for a little while and they did need to talk about it anyway so he could begin. After all, it was the reason he had come here in the first place.

"Alright," Derek shrugged. "I told him I would make him officially part of the pack once he had thought about it. He knew pretty much everything it would entail from start, but I preferred to go over everything once again. He has heard the hunter side of things, mostly, so I didn't want any misunderstanding."

Stiles nodded. It had been a pretty smart thing to do. It would have been a pretty easy assumption to make that he knew everything but the teenager supposed that, after the problem which had occurred with Jackson, the last thing Derek wanted was another predicament like it on his hand, especially while the alphas were in town to judge them.

"He also told me about… what you found out last night," Derek added. "Before I had time to tell him anything..."

Stiles' breath caught. He hadn't known whether or not Chris had decided to tell Derek about that revelation but he hadn't thought however that, even if he had, it would be so soon. On the other hand, Stiles could see the intelligence of saying something before he became part of the pack, as to avoid any problems later on, like accusations of keeping secrets and all that jazz.

Stiles concentrated on Derek, who appeared slightly perturbed, probably from what he had learnt. He just hoped it hadn't changed anything in his mind. Though, apparently, if he had decided to ask Chris to join even after hearing it, he must not have been too angry or anything.

"You don't… blame him for the fire," Stiles still hazarded a question and Derek's head whipped up, an incredulous look on his face.

"He was a kid!" he said, indignant that Stiles would even think that because, yes, he may not have shown too much faith in the Argent and their methods, but that didn't mean he was unreasonable enough to place the blame on a innocent.

In case of abuse, there was no way in hell he could blame the victim, especially when said person was underage at the time of the facts. He wasn't a monster.

"I just… I guess it's strange to think I'm not the only one feeling guilty about that," Derek said, frowning.

Stiles sighed because that was ridiculous. He shouldn't be feeling guilty about that and he decided to throw his own words back into his face. Maybe that would have some effects.

"You were a kid," he said with a pointed stare and Derek's face dropped.

"I know. It doesn't make it an easier. That's enough talking about that. We need to wait for his answer now," he explained as he finally sat down on the bed, stopping the pacing he had done up to now. "What happened between you and Lydia?"

Stiles swallowed because that was it, he couldn't make it wait until later anymore. He had to give the answer and it was going to hurt, he just knew it.

"She found out what Melissa's place in our pack would be," he said, hoping that Derek wouldn't necessitate for him to be into more details to understand what it meant for them, because he didn't know if he would have the strength to do it.

Derek closed his eyes for a second as the moment he had been dreading since the very first time Scott had talked about his mother having strange dreams had finally come. Sometimes, he hated being right.

"Stiles, I'm… I'm sorry," he said, because there was nothing else left to say.

Stiles let out a huff because, seriously, he had been expecting something more than that.

"I would have preferred to hear it from you rather than Lydia," he said because that was the part that hurt him the most, really, that Derek wouldn't actually talk to him to tell him if he wanted to break their friendship. "You could have told me you didn't want us to continue. I know I can be kind of spazzy sometimes, but I would have understood."

He would have. He wouldn't have liked it, but he would have understood. It would have been ridiculous to continue with a relationship if both of them weren't on board with it. Stiles knew that it could only hurt more in the long run.

"I know I should have. I wanted… I just really wanted it to work, Stiles," Derek said before he went on, trying to explain himself. "I guess I just can't…"

Stiles' eyes narrowed and then he understood what Derek meant.

"Oh… Kate," he said. "That's why you can't, because I'm only…"

"You're seventeen, Stiles and I'm six years older than you. I know it's not the same," Derek said, anticipating the argument. "I know we're not doing anything wrong, even if the law says otherwise, because we're not hurting anyone. I just can't stop thinking about it. I don't know, it was fine for a while but now it just feels…"

"It feels wrong," Stiles finished for him. "Derek, don't you think that maybe the reason it feels wrong has nothing to do with Kate at all? Look, you were attracted to me and you like me but, with time, maybe you just realized you weren't in love with me and that's why it feels so wrong to you, nothing to do with my age."

Derek stayed silent but then he nodded.

"Maybe. I love you," he said and it was something that Stiles hadn't heard in a very long time, but sincere and he smiled because he knew everything was going to be alright now.

"So do I, but you can love someone without being in love. I think we both hoped that we were," he said, looking down for a second before refocusing on his… friend. "I think we've both known for a while that it wasn't the case. I mean, when you look back, I think most of our interaction we've had the last few weeks were more platonic than anything else."

Derek nodded. Stiles was right, they hadn't really been acting like boyfriends for quite some time now. They were comfortable together, extremely so, but as very close friends. Now that he did look back, he knew he should have realized it sooner.

"I guess you're right," he admitted. "If you had noticed, why not tell me?"

Because Stiles didn't look as if it was something new, something he had just noticed and Derek himself had problems to see if, even if it was about his own feelings.

"I think I was afraid," Stiles said. "Because I didn't want to be kicked out of the pack or just at the fringe. I didn't want the wall that had been there before to come back."

It was still something he was terrified of, and Derek shook his head vehemently at the thought because that was something that could never happen. They had been through way too much for that to ever be the case.

"Stiles, you're absolutely indispensable to the pack. You're the one who basically brought all of us together, you're the one who made sure we had an alliance with the hunters, you're the one who accepted all our members and tried to include them. You could never be kicked out, unless you decided to leave willingly and I'm pretty sure everyone would try to stop you, me included. You're my best friend," Derek finished, looking down and blushing slightly because he had never put himself on the stage like that and it had been pretty mushy.

Stiles' eyes almost tore up because he had no idea he was so well considered in the pack. He, of course, knew he contributed and they all considered him as a friend, but he had never realized how much the others loved him for it. And hearing Derek, of all people, say he was his best friend, that was something he had never expected.

He flung his arms around Derek in a spontaneous outburst because he just couldn't help it. Besides, even if they were breaking up, that was normal friend behavior. Well, at least it was normal friend behavior when you were Stiles. Derek hugged him back and sniffed at his neck, knowing the smell would soon change, as it wouldn't be so entwined to his own.

"Guess this is kind of goodbye," Stiles said, breaking the embrace and Derek surprised him by taking his lips in a sweet kiss, barely a brush of lips against his.

"Goodbye to a lover, hello to a friend," he said with a small, truthful smile. "I'll leave you alone for a while. I think you need it. So do I."

Stiles nodded and, just like that, Derek was gone and the text time they would see each other, they would be nothing more than friends. Luckily, that wasn't such a bad thing. It still hurt to have his first ever relationship ending and he wished he could tell his dad, have him comfort him as he had always imagined it would happen. Of course, that couldn't happen. He closed his eyes tightly. He knew where to go.

* * *

Stiles arrived at the Argent house, not feeling especially better just yet but with his head straight, calmer than before. He knew he shouldn't be there at the moment, shouldn't be coming to complain about the end of a months-long relationship to the man who just had his wife of more than twenty years asking for a divorce but he couldn't help it. He didn't want to be all alone and didn't feel like being around people his own age at the moment. He knew they would be all very nice and understanding but, quite frankly, he didn't feel up to dealing with them and their questions.

He rang the bell and waited, fidgeting, for a little while. Less than a minute later, the door flung open and he saw the surprise register on Chris' face at seeing him there. Still, the man didn't waste time ushering him inside.

"Are you coming to ask about the talk I had with Derek?" the hunter asked, not seeing any other reason for Stiles to come see him so soon after their last meeting.

Stiles shook his head because, no, it really wasn't the reason he was there at all. If that had been his motivation, he wouldn't have come so soon after that particular conversation, to give Chris the time to decide by himself what he wanted to do and not influence his decision in anyway, even though Stiles was more than adamant the answer to the question Derek asked should be yes. Still, it had to be Chris' choice and no one else so, unless Chris was the one to ask him for his opinion, he would stay silent on the subject.

"No, he told me. Well, the broad lines at any rate. No, I just… I didn't want to be alone right now and I suppose I wanted to be with an adult."

Now that came as a surprise to Chris and he frowned because Stiles didn't seem to be his usual hyperactive self. He gathered that something must have happened. He led Stiles into his living room, a hand circling his biceps to basically drag him there and the fact that Stiles didn't even comment on it didn't seem like a very good thing. The teenager went willingly and sat down on the couch, staying pretty silent, which was another clue that something was definitively not right.

"Tell me what happened," Chris demanded.

Stiles shrugged, knowing it would seem both pathetic and childish.

"Nothing, really. Derek and I broke up… I guess it was a long time coming," Stiles didn't go any further.

He really didn't feel like developing the point anymore than that he didn't want to whine about this, especially not to Chris but the hunter didn't appear very pleased with the shortness of the answer.

"Why? You didn't seem to have problems?" he asked, wondering if he had been so focused on what was going on in his own life that he had missed something that big.

Stiles snorted.

"We weren't exactly what you could call having problems actually. It's just… our interactions were becoming more and more platonic, more than anything else. We didn't fight or anything, it just… ended. We're better off as friends, I suppose."

Stiles tried to shrug it off, as if it was nothing and, in a few days, it probably would be but, right now, not so much. And Chris had been a teenager once, it was that long ago that he couldn't remember the kind of pain Stiles must have been feeling at the moment.

"I'm sorry," he said, sympathetic, squeezing his tight for a second before taking away his hand. "You're going to be okay?"

Stiles smiled at him, a bit sadly, but far from appearing as if it was the end of his world.

"Yeah," he assured, truthfully. "I guess I'm going to mope a few days…. Well, if I even have the time to because I suppose we should be preparing ourselves to act soon, but I'm going to be fine. First relationship."

"Sorry I didn't realize it was happening," Chris apologized and Stiles snorted.

"I think you had more important things to worry about than my relationship status. Plus, to be fair, I don't think that even Derek had realized it was happening and I was burying my head in the sand, so, yeah, not surprising you didn't notice anything."

Chris raised his eyebrows but had to concede the point. It would have been slightly difficult for him to see through it considering the circumstances.

"Hope you don't mind me coming here?" Stiles still asked because, really, he must have had enough to deal between both his problems and Allison confiding in him too… well, okay, Allison probably didn't have any problems to confide when it came to Scott, mostly because the boy was so totally gone on her it was pretty pathetic to witness.

"After last night?" Chris asked, incredulous because, really, after what Stiles did for him, it would be pretty ungrateful of him to have problem helping the kid out or, most likely, keeping him company as he dealt with it on his own.

Stiles shrugged but stayed silent because he simply had no idea what to answer to that and he didn't especially want to talk about all these things. He just wanted to be with someone for a little while, someone who knew what had happened because he didn't feel like telling his father another lie and, considering the age gap between him and Derek and the fact he was underage, he couldn't have confided in the Sheriff without the man getting his shotgun ready.

Chris, realizing Stiles didn't want to continue on this line of questioning, turned to the other problem they were dealing with at the moment.

"So you think I should say yes to Derek?" he asked and Stiles brightened immediately because, as he had decided, if Chris were to ask for his opinion, he would give it without fail.

"Yes!" he exclaimed empathically and Chris looked pretty amused at his enthusiasm, but also pretty touched. "I mean, it would be great. For once, more adults would be better and, well, you would stop having all these nightmares probably and Allison would love having you part of the pack because, even if you're helping – and helping a lot, it's not the same as, you know, being actually part of the family," Stiles babbled as if he was trying all he could to convince the man, which wasn't exactly needed.

"Okay, okay…" Chris laughed, cutting the speech Stiles was still enouncing. "I get it, I should join. Guess it's a good thing I told Derek everything if I'm really doing it."

"Yeah, totally," Stiles approved with a million-watt smile and he went back into the conversation, with eagerness.

* * *

Scott came back home alone, after leaving Allison in front of her house, a bit surprised to see Stiles' jeep in the driveway but he knew that his best friend had been spending some time with Allison's dad lately and he supposed it was what had happened today. He would have to ask Stiles but he didn't know if he would get an answer as his friend was becoming more and more secretive with him.

He let himself in the house and was taken aback when he saw there was light in the living room. Normally, his mother should have been in bed, not because it was especially late, but because her shift was going to begin in a few hours time and, generally, when that was the case, she was making sure to sleep a few hours beforehand to be ready.

"Mom?" he called out, hoping everything was alright, hesitantly making his way towards the light.

"In here!" she called back from her place, not bothering to get up but, instead waiting for her son.

Scott went there and advanced cautiously up until he was standing in front of her, hesitating and concerned all at the same time. Things didn't get better once he saw the absolute resolute look on her face.

Now, it was true that Scott had spent quite a lot less time with his mother since he had been bitten, especially considering they had already a lot of problem getting together for a long time because of the hours she kept at the hospital. However, it didn't mean that he didn't know her extremely well. After all, they only had each other since his father had left and that meant that they were closer than most parents and children. And he knew exactly what that look meant.

Once his mother had taken a resolution, she kept to it, no matter what anyone else around her would tell her. It was kind of something that had passed onto Scott himself, he knew, so he also knew that trying would only do more harm than good. That state of mind was usually represented by the look she now sported on her face and Scott knew that, whatever she was going to say, it was going to be pretty final.

"Sit down, Scott," she said, indicating the chair in front of her and it didn't even come to Scott's mind to disobey her.

He sat down, keeping his eyes on her and trying not to show how nervous he was, trying not to show that his whole future would be decided because he just knew that, whether or not the answer to the question was yes, it would mean a lot, one way or another.

"You want to know if I want to be part of the pack?" she asked because it was true, Scott had never actually said the words.

Scott looked sheepish because that was the one proof that Isaac, Allison and he hadn't been all that subtle with their questions and talks about the pack. Of course, he had never really had any illusion that his mother wouldn't know about his intention but having her say it so matter-of-factly was kind of embarrassing.

He nodded, though, telling his mom she was right.

"That's what we would like, yes. And we think your dreams are caused because of that, because you should be a part of the pack. It's the magic the alphas put on the town," he explained briefly because they hadn't actually told the woman about that.

She raised an eyebrow, telling her son they would probably be talking about his withholding these information soon, but that wasn't what they needed to talk about right now.

"Have you thought about it?" Scott asked, mostly a formality as he was certain she was going to tell him her answer.

"I have," she acquiesced. "And I probably will say yes, but I need something first."

"Whatever you want, mom," Scott agreed eagerly without even knowing what it was because he would have done absolutely anything to have her say yes.

"I want a reunion with your whole pack," she said and it was without question that the reunion would happen, she would accept nothing less.

Scott nodded, agreeing because he knew there was no other way to convince his mother. He took his cell phone and typed a quick text to Derek, telling him about it and they wanted in companionable silence until the answer came.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10/12 (+epilogue)

Derek was very accommodating about Melissa's request. They didn't meet that night, mostly because it didn't seem fair to have everyone come by almost in the middle of the night for a reunion and Melissa, as a mother, understood that the kids couldn't be taken away from their own plans without a moment notice. She wouldn't want them to, anyway.

The reunion happened the day after, at dinner time. She had decided she would come back earlier than everyone else and actually prepare the meal. She knew she would be extremely tired but she had wanted to do it and no one was stupid enough to try to tell her otherwise. They all knew she had something special to tell and they would do anything in their power to make her want to become part of the pack on a regular basis.

Derek had stayed home that day, waiting for her to show up and willing to do and purchase whatever supplies she would need for the meal. He had been surprised when he had received the text from Scott the night before but it was a welcome distraction as well as a good thing for the pack.

With all of this, he had stopped thinking about his failed relationship with Stiles. While he was pretty okay with it, knowing it was for the best, he hated having had to hurt the other boy. He knew it had been the right to do, break their relationship, but he would have preferred not to have him understand the heartache. It would have been better if they had just drifted apart until Stiles thought it would be best if they broke up. Unfortunately, with Melissa coming, it had boosted the timeline and made it impossible.

Of course, now they all had to concentrate on forming the pack they needed to be to take on the challenge uttered by the alphas and welcoming Melissa in their midst would be the first step.

She showed up with Scott in tow, a few hours before their meeting was planned.

"Melissa," Derek greeted, as she had already told him, several time, to call her by her first name.

He also nodded to Scott as the kid made his way inside, not bothering to wait for an invitation as he was basically at home. Melissa had to catch herself before she reprimanded him but, if Derek had no problem with it, she knew she had to respect it.

"Derek, it's nice of you to let me do this," she said and she meant it.

She knew he didn't have to humor her about all of this. She had asked for a meeting and, yes, that was something he had to do if he wanted her on board but the whole thing about her preparing the meal, coming here and requisitioning his kitchen, he could have told her no.

"It's no problem. I don't think any of the teens are going to turn down a home-cooked meal," he answered with a small smile.

He wasn't exactly very good at the whole domestic thing, even if he was getting better but no one would ever accuse him of being a good cook. Sometimes, Stiles would prepare some food and they all appreciated it, but it wasn't a regular thing because he had enough to do with taking care of his father and the rest of the pack didn't especially know or want to cook. So, while some of them had pretty good meal when their parents were home or taking care of them, some of them, like Isaac, rarely did.

"Probably. So, tell me, should I count normal portion or do werewolves usually eat more?" she asked.

She should probably have her answer with Scott but the kid had always liked eating, even if he didn't put on any weight, so she didn't know if it was something that all the other shared. She didn't exactly have much occasion to cook for Isaac, as she had been working quite a lot of hours recently, and the usually ate when she was at work.

"More," he nodded. "And they are teenagers, all of them."

That made her pause for a second because, quite frankly, she had been so taken by her idea that she hadn't exactly taken the time to think about the logistic much and she suddenly paled and made a grimace.

"God, I'm never going to make it," she said when she finally realized how much she would have to cook to feed everyone.

Derek snorted because he did understand and he held a chuckle at the glare she was sending him.

"I'm going to the groceries store, do you need anything for all of this?"

"Yes," she said immediately. "Let's go to the kitchen and you'll take Scott with you because I don't want him in my way in the kitchen. God knows he's not helpful."

"I heard that!" Scott called out from the living room, pouting.

"You were supposed to!" Melissa called back as she followed Derek where she had asked him to take her.

Derek smiled at the banter, not commenting but understanding Melissa's reasoning. Scott had a good heart, but god knew his head was not usually in what he was doing and, in a kitchen, that must have translated in a complete disaster.

Melissa put herself at ease, discarding her coat and everything and taking a piece of paper and a pencil, which she had asked Derek for. She made a list of each and every item she would need for the meal and then sent Derek on his way, with Scott.

* * *

Luckily for Melissa, everything went her way for once in her life. Usually, when you wanted to do something like that, you could be sure everything would go wrong but, no, there was not a single problem. Derek and Scott came back with absolutely everything that was needed. She thanked Derek for that because she was pretty sure he was responsible for the prowess. Usually, Scott always did forget at least one item he would have to go back for.

There was no misfortune involved in the cooking. She was able to prepare everything without making a single mistake. Nothing was burnt; everything was finished right on time and, by the time every teenager was inside, the meal was ready to be eaten.

The conversation around the table was kind of tilted for a moment, most of the adolescents not feeling especially comfortable around Melissa, even though they didn't have anything against her. Of course, it was less than five minutes in than Stiles couldn't take it anymore.

He began chatting away, with Melissa, because he had known her for a very long time. It didn't take long before they were pulling Scott in and then Allison and Isaac followed. It took some time with Danny, Jackson and Lydia, as they were the one who knew her the less, but Lydia came in gracefully, with her usual impeccable manners, pulling in the two boys after her. Derek, for his part, preferred to stay silent, only answering to direct questions.

They didn't stray into the topic they all wanted to talk about. Without even a word, they all came to the conclusion they would discuss it after the meal was over, as not to talk about business while they were eating and enjoying their food.

Of course, it couldn't last eternally and, after one hour or two, both the meal and the dessert were over. The teens had all pitched in for the cleaning the dishes and it was done in less than ten minutes. It was the one good thing about having such a large group to feed.

They all went to the living room and the adolescents all sat down around the carpet, only Derek and Melissa on the couch. All of them looked at the two adults expectantly, waiting to hear what Melissa had to say because they all knew she was the one calling.

"Okay, you need to tell me what my role would be in your pack, because going around playing detective or fight, that's not my thing," she said immediately as she really didn't want anyone to think she would do that kind of things.

"No!" Scott interjected because he either didn't want his mom in that kind of position.

"That wouldn't be your role, Melissa," Derek reassured her immediately.

"From what we have deducted," Lydia began as she ruffled through her bag, getting the books where she had found her information out to hand it to the woman. "You would be the caretaker. Basically, it means the same thing you have done up to know, helping us if we are hurt, giving advices when we need it. The different would be it would be official."

Stiles nodded to show he was sure it was exactly as she told and Melissa acquiesced thoughtfully. That was something she could get on board with. She would have no problem continue doing the same thing and, if she was officially part of the pack, she would be kept more informed, she supposed.

She read through the document she had been given, diagonally, as she would get over them more in details at a later date. One thing stuck out to her, though, the same one Stiles had hoped she would have realized.

"Wait! If Derek and Stiles are together, how can I be this caretaker? Wouldn't it be Stiles' role?"

Except for Lydia and Jackson, most of them were surprised to hear that and Derek and Stiles exchanged a look. They hadn't wanted to make a public announcement but it seemed there was little choice for them in the matter.

"We're not together anymore," Stiles said as if he was talking about the weather and they were gasps around them.

"Why?" Isaac asked plaintively, as he didn't want any change to come to the pack.

They both shrugged but it was Derek who answered.

"We've just decided we were better off as friends. It doesn't change anything," he added, knowing what was bothering his young beta. "We're both part of the pack, nothing is going to change that."

"Yeah, no one can get rid of me that easily," Stiles joked around.

"They don't have to explain themselves to you," Melissa cut as she saw that some other people were ready to comment on the subject. "But, at least, that explains it."

She marked a pause, thinking about what she was going to say next.

"So, does that mean that Derek and I will be the only adults in the pack?"

"Yes."

"No," both Derek and Stiles interrupted as Scott and Jackson had said the exact opposite.

They all turned to the alpha, to have an explanation as they didn't know exactly who else was supposed to be in the pack. They hadn't discussed anything about that, except for a passing remark from Stiles to Lydia.

"Chris Argent will probably be joining us," Derek said and Allison couldn't help her expression of delight.

Stiles smiled to her because he did understand what she was feeling. He knew she was afraid to lose her dad too, after what had happened to the rest of the family and, having him in the pack, was kind of a sure way to keep him in her life.

"Is that really a good idea?" Jackson asked, still wary because of his experience with Gerard.

While no one could blame him, because let's face it, he had been the one most touched by Gerard's attacks, it wasn't fair of him to blame Chris instead.

"Yes," Allison said, on the defensive. "He's helping us anyway. It's better if he's one of us."

Scott nodded, mostly because he wanted Allison happy but he also had some contact with the man when the two teenagers met at the Argent house, so he knew it would be a good idea.

"It would be good to have another parents," Melissa said, pretty happy she wouldn't be the only one because, while Derek was an adult, he was closer in age to the kids than to her and was not exactly parental figure material.

"He hasn't say yes, yet," Derek informed them, not wanting to give anyone false hope.

"I'll convince him," Allison said because there was no way she would let him get away with refusing.

"He'll say yes," Stiles cut. "I talked to him after you, not about this but he did tell me he was going to contact you."

The last part was told to Derek, who knew exactly when he had decided to go see the man. The alpha nodded, glad that something had already been done. So, now, they had all of the people who should be with them in their group, even if it wasn't official just yet.

"Does that mean that we have completed the pack?" Isaac asked. "Because I don't think anyone else is concerned by what happens?"

All of them turned to Derek, who simply nodded, telling all of them that they had succeeded in the first part of the alphas' challenge.

"Can you stay for a while after the kids leave?" Derek asked Melissa, ignoring the indignant shout of some of the members at being called kids.

The rest of the evening was spent in comfortable companionship as the tension that had been present during the meal had all but vanished with Melissa's agreement to become part of the pack and the discussion which had followed, revealing they were a step closer from passing the test.

Jackson had bought the map with him but they had all tacitly decided to wait before looking at it, because it would be better if they should all look at it together, once everyone had been initiated in the pack. they would all decide together, as it was supposed to be and, if the alphas were watching, they would know they had respected the rules and tried their best to become a completely devoted pack.

They joked around, trying to ease Melissa the most in the pack, let her see how they acted with each other, how they related, how she would be part of it soon and how she had to get used to some behavior she may not have imagined, all the while doing their best not to scare her, as she was not all that knowledgeable when it came to werewolves. She had, after all, only been told the basics, mostly concerning the things that had happened since Scott was bitten and not the folklore in itself.

* * *

Stiles was the one to drive Scott back, as his mother had to stay behind to be introduced officially by Derek, which meant he didn't have a ride. Now, of course, he could have run back home but it gave the two teenagers the occasion to spend some time alone together. The detour meant that he was home later than he would have thought but it was summer so he didn't have school, which meant it was something he was allowed to.

That was why Stiles was more than a little surprised to see his father was waiting for him at the dinner table. Normally, the man would already be asleep considering his work hours at the moment, but apparently he wanted to talk to him and it couldn't wait. That was something Stiles really didn't like.

"Dad? What are you doing?" he inquired from the entrance of the room, frowning as he hoped nothing bad had happened.

His father looked somber and he was expecting something big.

"Sit down, Stiles," the Sheriff said and his tone let no option for Stiles but to obey.

The Sheriff watched him intently for a while and he had problem maintaining his gaze. Stiles looked around, trying to see if there was a clue somewhere, telling him what his father wanted to talk about but it didn't seem so. He reported his eyes on his dad and the man didn't smile, didn't let any expression cross his face.

"I need an explanation," the Sheriff said and Stiles was frozen to his seat.

His father couldn't have realized anything about the werewolf situation. It was impossible. Maybe he knew he hung around with Derek, but that wouldn't be that bad, considering that the man was not a suspect anymore, he had been cleared of everything after Kate was found guilty of the fire.

"What about?" he said flippantly, wanting to know exactly what his father knew before trying to explain anything, not wanting to inform him about something he didn't know anything about.

The Sheriff took something that had been sitting on his lap and, therefore, out of sight from Stiles and put in on the table and Stiles almost winced. He had thought he had hidden that well, and his father having found it meant that he had been looking through his things apparently. He supposed he was lucky he hadn't found anything else.

Because there, on the table, laid the knife Chris had given him when he had asked the man for a weapon. As only the knife was there, and not the gun, he supposed that his father hadn't been able to find it and he thanked the gods for that. The knife was bad enough.

"It was a gift," Stiles said quietly. "It's not as if I take it out with me."

He supposed it was a good thing that he had seen it in his room and not once he had forgotten it in clothes or anything like that. He supposed he had at least the excuse it was just something he kept in his room, with no intention of using. Granted it was a lie, but his father didn't need to know that.

"I should hope you don't take it out with you. Who gave you that?"

"Chris Argent," Stiles answered, knowing of course that his father would find out one way or another.

Apparently, the Sheriff had not been expecting that. Stiles supposed he had thought that another kid had given it to him, someone in a gang or something like that. He didn't know whether it was a good thing or not that it was an adult in the end.

"Chris Argent?" the Sheriff repeated, surprised. "Why would he give you that?"

The surprise had, apparently, suppressed a bit the anger that must have been coursing through him before. The fact that his son was obviously not part of a gang or a group of delinquent was already something that reassured him. Stiles supposed it was the paintjob his cruiser had received that had made him suspicious of something like that.

Of course, now Stiles just had to explain why he had that knife, why Chris had decided to give it to him and he could hardly say it was to protect himself from something supernatural.

"He wanted to give me something because I helped him out with Gerard," Stiles said quickly, inventing something that could be plausible. "It's… it's kind of a family thing, the motto's written on it. That's why he gave it to me, to say thanks…"

His father looked more closely at the knife. Stiles supposed that the man had seen a weapon in his son room and had not looked further because it was something bad. He saw him trace the words in French and he seemed less frowning that before.

"I tried to tell him I couldn't take it but he insisted. It's not meant to be used," Stiles tried to add, wanting to have the best case possible.

"It's beautiful, that's sure. You promise me that you're never taking that knife out of your room?"

Stiles tried not to smile because, with this sentence, he knew his dad would let him keep it and not make a scene about it.

"Promise, not being a good little truant," Stiles joked and the Sheriff snorted.

"You better," he mock-threatened and handed the knife back to him, careful with it.

Stiles took it and hesitated for a few seconds before saying goodbye and running upstairs. He preferred not to give his father too much time to change his mind. It was a small miracle he had been convinced to have the knife back and not have to give it back to its original owner. He didn't want to tempt fate.

As he swung the door of his room open, he nearly let out a yelp of surprise but, thankfully, was able to contain it before it was out. The last thing he wanted was to alert his father that something was wrong now but, really, he hadn't expected to find anyone in his room.

"Isaac! What are you doing here?" he said in a hushed tone, but demanding an answer.

The blonde wolf shrugged from his place on Stiles' bed and gave him a pleading stare, as if he didn't want Stiles to be mad at him for his intrusion. Stiles wasn't mad, not at all, but sure as hell surprised. He came to sit beside Isaac, waiting for his answer.

"I wanted to make sure you were really okay," Isaac explained. "I know you and Derek said you were better off as friend, but I didn't know if you were just saying it because everyone was there if you really thought it."

Okay, now Stiles really couldn't be mad. It was just impossible to stay angry at that boy, he was just too cute for words and, to be truthful, Stiles was touched by his concern, even if it was unjustified.

"I'm really okay, Isaac. I promise. Derek and I weren't meant to be but it's hardly as if we had been so serious in the first place. I mean, seriously, there is about no change in our relationship, except what we call it. Come on, you hadn't even noticed anything before we told you."

Isaac looked sheepish because that was true. They hadn't even realized the two of them had had a change of status so maybe Stiles was right, maybe they hadn't been as serious as they all thought they were.

"Sorry," Isaac apologized for his coming here, when there was obviously no reason to.

"No problem. You want to stay tonight?"

Isaac nodded but didn't move and he fixed Stiles, as if he was hesitating about asking something and Stiles twitched because, seriously, the kid needed to speak up, especially with him as he had no reason to fear what he would be told.

He thought a bit about it and then the answer struck him. He knew exactly what Isaac wanted to know but he had to be sure and actually made sure the blonde would ask him.

"I suppose you heard everything," Stiles said. "My dad and I?"

Isaac nodded quickly because he knew he had been caught so there was no reason to lie. Stiles knew that being upstairs wouldn't have prevented him from hearing everything exactly as if he was just besides them.

"I thought your dad didn't know anything about what was going on?"

Stiles blinked because that was true but he wasn't certain why exactly Isaac was bringing that up right now.

"He doesn't. Why?"

"You told him you helped Mr. Argent with Gerard, so…"

Stiles bit his lips because that wasn't a case of his father not knowing the truth but Isaac, at least partially. It was getting really annoying remembering who knew what who didn't.

"It doesn't have anything to do with what really happened. Look, I told my dad something about Gerard Argent, when everything was happening so he would help me out and keep an eye on him," he began explained, being vague on purpose as he didn't want Isaac to understand what he was saying. "Considering what I told him, it's very easy for him to believe I could have helped out but… it's just a lie, Isaac. I can't tell my dad why I have this knife and I had to find something that would make Chris give it to me."

Isaac didn't seem all that convinced about what Stiles was trying to say but he chose not to insist as it wasn't exactly his place to know. It had nothing to do with him and the only reason he had asked in the first place was to be sure the Sheriff didn't know anything about the truth.

"Get ready to bed," Stiles said, getting up and beginning to prepare himself. "I think we will need all the rest we can get because it's going to be bad soon."

"You think Boyd and Erica are okay?" Isaac asked the question he hadn't dared to ask Derek when they had been informed about the task.

Stiles stayed silent for a while because he really didn't think so but he didn't want to tell Isaac that. He didn't have the heart to.

"I think they are alive," he settled to say.


	12. Chapter 11

**Author's note: the terms I've used to describe the different positions in the pack are taken straight from the 'Anita Blake' series, from Laurell K. Hamilton, because I thought they would fit well in what I was trying to say. However, it will, at no point, become a crossover with this series.**

Chapter 11/12 (+epilogue)

The day after Melissa's formal induction in the pack, there was no reunion. Derek sent them a mass text, telling them to put all of their finding together, so they could all expose them the day after. He wanted them to be ready because everything would probably happen very quickly.

For his part, he would go to Chris and welcome him in the pack, so that they would all have gone through the ritual, and tell him about the meeting the next day, so he would also know to attend.

Stiles knew his part of the work would be more focused on the magic side of things, as he couldn't believe Deaton would make him begin learning all of this when they had so many other things to worry about if it wasn't important for the test. He was hoping he could get some practice because, if he needed to use some magic for the task, he was not all that ready to.

He spent his whole day practicing, finally mastering how to use mountain ash, by believing he could actually do it. From the book, he had known that faith in what he was doing was of the utmost importance but he hadn't really succeeded until now. From now on, though he couldn't afford to doubt himself anymore, so he put all of his mind to it, finally managing to make a circle.

A delighted smile illuminated his whole face as he saw the result of his experiment finally being the one he was hoping to see. He redid it a few times around, to make sure it wasn't a one-off but a consistent result. Thankfully, it so happened that it was and then he read through the rest of the book. He knew he wouldn't have the time to master any kind of spell or ritual of grand importance, it was way too short of a notice for that, but he would see if there were some little things that he should know.

He was so absorbed in his reading that he didn't realize how much time had passed. He didn't try to contact anyone, didn't try to talk to his father who, thankfully, didn't try to talk again about that knife. He concentrated on nothing but his reading, trying to absorb the greatest amount of information possible so that he would be able to, at least, recognize the magic used, even if he couldn't actually use it just yet.

The insistent beeping of his phone startled him out of his attentive reading and he looked at the text Derek sent him, smiling as, apparently, the last member of the pack was officially in and the hour of the reunion had been set. They would all meet at nine in the morning at the Hale house. From then on, it would be game on.

Stiles looked at his watch and saw that it was already ten in the evening. Now, normally, he didn't go to bed that early, especially in the middle of the summer vacations, but he knew that he would need all the rest he could get so, for once, he did himself violence and decided to turn in early.

His dad had already left for his shift, so there would be no question from his part, for which Stiles was incredibly grateful. His father was not an idiot and, if there were too many inconsistencies in his behavior, he would end up realizing that something was wrong and then it would be only a matter of time before he knew the truth.

Sleep didn't come easy to him that night. He tossed and turned for a while, as his mind refused to settle, focusing on all the different things he had just learnt. The good thing was that he had mostly memorized everything, well enough to go over it without needing the book, the bad thing was that he couldn't stop thinking about it.

When he eventually lost consciousness and slid into sleep, it wasn't dreamless and it wasn't caused by the spell. Everything he knew about the situation at hand, the alphas, Erica and Boyd, the magic he had learnt and all of his friends and family being in danger blended together to make a nightmare from which he couldn't escape. He woke up several times, always sweating, always his heart beating way too fast to be normal. Each time, he was able to go back to sleep, each time waking up hours later.

It wasn't the most restful night he could have had and he thanked every deity he had gone to bed that early because, even with all these nightmares, he had at least had quite a few hours of sleep.

He woke up with the sun already up eventually, and his eyes found the clock. It was seven thirty. He knew there was no going back to sleep now. He was too early but he knew he had to prepare everything to that he would have enough time to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He knew it would be way too important.

He prepared himself and prepared a bag containing everything he would need. He had left most of the research to Lydia, from the moment Deaton had told him about magic, but he still had some documents that could prove themselves useful. He also took both the gun, with ammunition, and the knife, without forgetting the mountain ashes. He hoped he wouldn't need any of it but, somehow, he doubted it.

He looked around and hesitated. Should he leave a note for his father? He was afraid that it would be the end this time around. He knew they risked to go for it ad that they had risk not to come back but he couldn't let himself write anything wrong, because if nothing happened and his father got hold of the note…

Finally, he scribbled that he would be at Scott and would stay for the night, adding that if there was a problem he would know where to find him, which normally wouldn't happen because his father had no problem with him staying with Scott for a night or two during the holiday. He would be glad Stiles wasn't staying all alone.

Stiles looked around a final time, afraid it would be the last time he saw his home. Last time they had a problem, he hadn't had time to prepare as he was kidnapped and he had no time to think about what would happen if something happened to him. He had no time to consider his father would be left all alone. God, that was hard.

Eventually, he left and got into his jeep, trying not to let too many scenarios run through his mind. His hands were shaking and he knew that the only way it would get better was once they had passed the test. He tried the best he could to concentrate on the road, an accident was the very last thing he needed but he had trouble doing so.

He was one of the first to arrive. Derek was not surprised to see him there but gave him a little smile because it was so Stiles to be impatient like that. They sat themselves at the table, wanting to make it a bit more formal and waited for the others.

The Hale house filled up pretty quickly, pack members arriving one after another, until everyone was present around the table, in the kitchen, waiting for Derek to talk and tell them what was going to happen from then on. All of them were tense, Stiles wasn't the only one knowing that everything would end one way or another very soon. It had never been so quiet with so many people in there before, but it was hardly the time t chitchat and even Stiles, who usually always had a word to lighten up the atmosphere, couldn't find anything to say to make things better, nothing that would have been appropriate for the time being, not when not only their pack was in danger, but the life of two of their friends hung in the balance.

"We need a plan," Derek said, which may not have been the warmest greeting, but had the merit of getting them on the subject immediately, at the very least. "We need to figure out how to get Boyd and Erica back, the way the alphas want us to, and that means all of us need to be involved in the plan, at one point or another."

The room stayed silent for a while, none of them actually knowing what to say. Chris was the one who had the more experience in planning but, at the moment, he didn't feel like he should be the one calling the shot. Derek may have accepted him in the pack, but the kids weren't used to him, except for Allison and Stiles – and Lydia up to a certain point – and he had to make sure not to undermine Derek's place as a pack leader which, he knew, would be easy considering how much older he was.

Eventually, Stiles was the one to break the silence, as he had been so many times before. he didn't really understand why he was always the one doing the ice breaking, but he knew they were all waiting for him to begin the planning session, even Derek.

"Jackson, do you have the map on you?"

Jackson appeared startled to be called upon first, but he knew knowing the territory was an important part. He and Derek may have looked over it already, but now that the rest of the pack was also there, it was different. They needed to all have the information at their disposition if they wanted to function as a cohesive unit and knowing the full extent of the pack territory was an essential piece on information to have.

He got up and went to get the map from where he had left it on his last visit, after showing it to Derek. He spread it out of the table, so that all of them would be able to see it from their sitting place, and stayed up to explain what the color scheme he had used represented.

They all watched the map, taking in the layout and seeing that it represented not only the town of Beacon Hills, but also the woods surrounding it and the roads which led out towards neighboring counties.

"Okay, I suppose all of you recognize the town. Now, the area circled in green," he began, pointing at a small portion of the forest, which included the place the house they were in at the moment stood. "Is where the Hale pack took residence when they first came to Beacon Hills, back a few centuries ago."

Scott and Isaac gasped. They had no idea that the Hale had been established there for so long and hadn't really taken the time to think about it. While Stiles hadn't known for sure, he had been fairly certain the family had been installed around town for a few generations, as indicated by the easiness Gerard Argent had had to find them. He could also remember seeing them around town and everyone seemed to know and accept them. As Beacon Hills was a small town, such a level of acceptance usually showed people who had lived among them for all their life.

"Now," Jackson continued. "Most of the territory belonging to the Hale pack in considered part of the woods and this is the area circled in red."

They all looked at the map to see the red was encompassing almost all of the forest. The portion which was part of Beacon Hills itself was completely included but it also extended beyond for quite a bit and even Stiles had to whistle because it was big, really big. He had no idea that the territory extended that far.

"They are a few building, which I've indicated in yellow, that are property of your family. Some of them are rented so…. It's a bit more complicated to navigate and you should probably see with the bank how everything works, but from what I've been able to find, there have been no problems until now so I suppose your family had made arrangements before…"

Derek nodded, not forcing Jackson to finish his sentence, and made a mental note to go and see the bank about that once everything concerning their current assessment was over. He, himself, had had no idea his family owned so many buildings before Jackson had told him as much but he knew he would have to put everything in order. After all, it wasn't just him anymore now, but his whole pack was concerned and the only way to do right by them was to be on top of everything, especially when it came to the territory, as it would be their children who would be inheriting the land. He would also have to make a will to make sure it would pass onto them should anything happen to him, something his family never had to do before, as it always passed on from generation to generation. However, now was not the time to think about that.

"Okay," Derek said, thanking Jackson silently for his research and turning towards the rest. "Erica and Boyd, from what little intel I've been able to gather, are detained somewhere in this zone."

He took a black marker and circled a sizable zone.

"It's outside the territory," Lydia remarked as it was what stood out first. "But very near."

Derek nodded.

"They must have gotten to Boyd and Erica just when they were going to cross the boundary," Chris interjected, knowing how packs worked just as well as Derek. "Which means that, technically, they were still a part of the pack. To be officially out, they should have crossed the territory line of their own free will."

Derek acquiesced.

"Exactly. Our bonds with them have always been very fragile, as they never quite managed to make a place for themselves and it became almost null by the time they decided to leave, which explain why none of us realized they were still part of us."

"But we will have to leave the territory to get them back. Wouldn't all of us being out at the same time mean surrendering it?" Allison asked, pointing out the issue at hand.

"Someone will have to stay behind," Isaac piped up, not even bothering to wait if Derek agreed with Allison's assessment but trusting her to be right.

Derek nodded again and was going to say something when Melissa interrupted.

"Me," she said confidently, not because she was asking to be left behind but knowing it would be better for everyone if she was.

"Yes," Derek affirmed and Scott sighed in relief, knowing his mother was going to be safe and no one could really blame him.

None of them wanted anything to happen to Melissa and they knew she had no idea of how to handle herself in a fight. She was too new to the pack life and had no previous experience of combat to fall back on, unlike Chris.

"You just don't have the experience and, this way, you can be ready if there are people in need of medical care after we're done," Derek said, adding the last part, knowing full well she would want to, at least, contribute, in some way.

Melissa nodded resolutely and Stiles knew that, should any of them come back with even the smallest injury, they would find themselves mothered to death by a very determined nurse.

"I'll have to get some supplies from the hospital," she said, almost to herself but Scott interrupted.

"Deaton's," he said and Melissa turned to look at him, inquiringly. "It's better to get the supplies from Deaton. I mean, it's less likely you'll get asked for information. He would be kind of suspicious if you were to take some equipment and Deaton has more experience with werewolves, so he would know what kind of material you need."

Melissa smiled, proud of her son, knowing he had thought about it before talking and she nodded because, yes, that was a really good idea.

"I could ask him to stay here with me, just in case," she proposed tentatively. "Or would that interfere with the test?"

Derek shook his head.

"That's fine. We are authorized to ask for help from outside sources, if we need it. Deaton can help," he admitted, mostly likely not having thought about including the veterinarian before. "He should agree to help."

"Okay, so we know about the territory, which was one of the things they told us to look for and we know, approximately, where Boyd and Erica are detained. Do we know anything about what kind of defense there will be to stop us from getting there?" Stiles asked and Derek shook his head.

"Not really. I didn't cross the territory line because I wasn't sure they would take that as me trying to do the task on my own, but there shouldn't be anyone else involved besides the alphas. So it will be them, trying to prevent us from succeeding."

Most frowned because that seemed to be a little too easy, especially considering that Kali was out, or at least magically out. She would probably be standing as a werewolf, but not a magic practitioner. Stiles was going to ask about that, when Jackson interrupted.

"What about hunter techniques?" he asked. "I mean, if they have observed us all this time, they knew we have hunters in the pack so they may want to know if we can really work together and tell each other everything."

"Yes," Lydia approved with an appreciative smile, happy to see her boyfriend had such a good idea, but a little put out she hadn't been the one to think about it.

To be fair, even Stiles was a bit annoyed at not having thought about something that seemed too obvious.

"I'll be there," Chris said. "If they use something hunters do, I'll be able to spot it. So will Allison. We may need talkie walkie to stay in touch if we separate, though."

Derek frowned. He hadn't thought about that, mostly because he wouldn't really need it but it was true that, with that many humans in the pack, they would need more than just their senses.

"I hadn't thought about it," he admitted. "You know where to find some?"

Chris nodded.

"I've more than enough for all of us at home," he said.

That would be one less thing to worry about. Of course, they still didn't know a thing about what they would face. However, they had no other choice than to accept that the words of the day would be 'expect the unexpected'.

"What about the last thing they told us," Danny asked. "We need to know about our places in the pack. I mean, there is the whole hierarchy thing but it has to be more than just alpha, betas, humans…"

Lydia nodded.

"I've found quite a bit about it. I suppose they meant we need to know about the old hierarchy system. The terms are not really used anymore but apparently the positions are usually filled automatically in a pack for it to work correctly. Some of them are not in use anymore, though, and some people don't have any special position to fill, including me," she added, showing some tact for once and avoiding making anyone feel underestimated.

They all nodded and stood to attention, waiting for her to continue, because none of them wanted to miss a thing. They didn't know anything about that, not even Derek and Chris, and it was obvious it was important.

She took her notebook out of her bag. She hadn't taken the original book, because it was no use to have something in Latin when she was the only one who could understand it anyway. She knew the others would trust her to have translated it right so she didn't need to show them the proof and she began her recitation.

"First, the Ulfric. That's an easy one. It's the male leader, the alpha, so no need to stop on this one. Then, there is the Lupa. In olden days, it was usually the Ulfric's mate, but the term has become something more like a female leader, one in charge of protecting the pack, who helps the alpha. If the alpha is mater, it would be her – or him, actually, but if he's not, it's not a problem as someone else will fill the role."

"Mom," Scott interrupted, as they had already talked about that part when Melissa had joined them.

Lydia acquiesced and continued as no one had any question for the moment.

"Then there are the Geri and the Freki," she said and there were some eyebrows raised at the terms.

"Norse mythology?" Stiles interrupted and she shrugged.

She wasn't certain if there was a relation in between the Norse mythology and the werewolf lore, but the same terms were found in both so it was an idea they should research more once they had some free time.

"Yes. Now, these two are the second and third in command, respectively which, I suppose, in our pack means Scott and Jackson, as they were the first turned and you have been teaching them more."

The last comment was directed straight to Derek and he had to admit she was right. He had taught more to Scott and Jackson, mainly because they had been there from the start and he knew they would be the most likely candidates to take over for him, should he need it, as Isaac was way too much of a sweetheart to be able to lead correctly.

"The Sköll and the Hati are supposed to be the enforcers of the pack, which I suppose would be Chris and Allison," she continued and both of them nodded, neither opting to ask for an explanation as, as hunters, they were the logical choices for the positions.

No one else thought to contradict Lydia about it either and she turned to finish her enumeration.

"Finally, the Vargamor, who is a magic user, either part of the pack or working in close collaboration with them. In this case, it would be Stiles."

The teenager nodded, as it explained a lot about Deaton's decision, but not everyone was aware of his newly discovered magical powers.

"Stiles?" both Scott and Derek asked in tandem and they were quite a few questioning look on others' face, as they looked at the boy in question, silently asking why he wasn't particularly surprised by the declaration.

"Deaton gave me a magic book and I've begun studying a few things. I haven't gotten very far, it's kind of slow work, but I've gotten a bit used to mountain ash, which may actually help us with the alphas since it's mainly used as an easy way to make barriers wolves can't cross."

He explained briefly, without adding many details, knowing they didn't have a lot of time to waste on this and they all nodded, deciding that questions could wait for afterwards. They would probably grill him and he would answer with gusto if that meant that they were all alive and well.

"You've mountain ash with you?" Chris asked as he had seen the container back at his house, but wasn't sure the teenager still had any left after having exercised his abilities during these last few days and Stiles nodded, telling him there was nothing to worry about on this side of things.

Lydia, who was still not completely finished, cut the chitchat.

"In the old days, there was another position in the pack: the Bolverk, who was also known as the punished, but it's not really in use anymore, as the alpha is the one to dish out the punishments nowadays. The Fenrir, the challenger, is still in use but I don't think we have to worry about that in our pack. That means Isaac, Danny and I don't have any special position in the pack and, I suppose, Boyd and Erica don't either."

Once she had finished with her complete presentation, they all agreed that they had, at least, a good inkling of how the ancient hierarchy worked. If they were asked specific questions about their roles during the challenge, they would be able to answer it without any problems, which was all they wanted.

"Does that mean we're ready to take on the challenge?" Isaac asked, his face showing he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted it to be the case.

All of them were a bit ambivalent but it wasn't as if procrastinating would do anything to make things easier. As least, they would be settled.

"Yeah. The best would be to go in at night. We have to prove we can do it without alerting anyone of what we're doing and going in broad daylight, even in the forest, would be a bad idea."

They all nodded.

"Are all of us coming?" Danny asked, not sure whether or not he would be helpful.

Derek nodded decisively.

"Yes, they will probably be something for all of us to do. They have been watching us, they know what kind of skill we possess and are probably going to make sure all of us have something to do, to show that we can all work together. Melissa will be the only one to stay behind."

"We will need more weapons," Chris said with a suppressed sigh.

He really didn't like the idea of giving the kids, who didn't know how to use them, guns but they needed to have more than just a knife on them to defend themselves. As long as they were careful, they should be able to shoot something at point blank range.

"Are we taking our cars?" Allison asked, as she didn't know whether they wanted a more discreet approach or not.

"We kind of need them," Stiles interjected. "I mean, not all of us can run and if we have any wounded, we will need to drive them back."

"And they will be able to hear us coming anyway," Isaac added, because he knew just how sensitive werewolf hearing was.

Derek nodded.

"We meet at the house, when it's time and we decide how many cars we take once we're all there and have the material ready."

They all looked at each other because, apparently, they all knew what they had to do from then on to get ready.

"What about our parents?" Danny asked, because he was one of the teenagers who had the most present parents in the group, a family who would wonder where he was going.

"Giant sleepover at Scott?" Stiles asked tentatively, looking at Melissa as she was the one who would have to answer any call, should any of the parents want to verify the whereabouts of their children.

She nodded.

"I'll deviate the landline to my mobile phone and take all calls from here," she said, not liking the idea to lie to her fellow parents but understanding there was really no other choice.

"Good, then we meet here at seven," Derek stated and everyone realized the meeting was over.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12/12 (+epilogue)

When Scott and Melissa showed up in her car, in front of Deaton's clinic, the vet didn't seem particularly surprised by their presence. He took one look at their grim faces and came to the right conclusion on his first try. He ushered them inside, telling them to wait in the back chamber, as he quickly finished with the client who was worried about his cat before closing the blinds of the clinic once the man was out of sight.

"You're acting tonight," Deaton stated more than he asked, not even wondering why Melissa was there as he had probably guessed, as soon as she had been made aware of the truth, that she would become part of the pack.

They both nodded.

"We were wondering if you could provide us with some supplies, in case anything happens," Melissa inquired. "And maybe help if any of the wolves get seriously injured because I'm not exactly sure of what to do to heal a werewolf."

Deaton looked quizzically at her before nodding amiably. Never before had he had any problem helping the pack, even if he knew that, sometimes, the kids wished he would be less cryptic in his statements, and he would never turn anyone in need of medical assistance away. He may have only been a veterinarian, as opposed to a doctor, it didn't mean he didn't take his vocation seriously.

"I suppose we should go to the house," he said as he doubted any of the pack would want to head to the clinic if anything happened to them. "We will need your help transporting the supplies," he finished, looking at Scott as he was the one who would do most of the carrying.

Scott nodded enthusiastically, eager to be able to do something helpful and Deaton began preparing what he would need, walking around the clinic and filling some empty boxes with equipment, under the watchful eyes of Melissa, handing them to Scott as soon as they were ready to be taken to the car.

* * *

Allison and Chris were standing quietly in the middle of their garage, working efficiently, looking over their arsenal and trying to decide what they would take. The young woman knew she would have her bow with her, but she was also aware it would take more than just that to make sure they would make it out alive.

"Guns or shotguns?" she asked her father, because relying on his experience would be better.

"Guns," he answered immediately, not taking the time to think it through as the answer was fairly obvious to him.

He was quickly taking weapons off from where they hung and placing them on the table once he had chosen them. They needed enough so that all the humans would be armed with at least one backup each, should anything happen to the first firearm.

All of them had at least begun their training at the shooting range, but Chris really didn't like that he hadn't been able to certify they knew how to use them. Of course, there was no other option but it went against all his conviction. He just hoped they would make sure not to shoot someone from their own side, or themselves.

"We won't be in long enough range for shotgun," he explained. "At least, the others won't and we will use the crossbows if we are. It's better and quieter for that kind of mission. And I think that giving your friends guns is bad enough, I'm not attempting to get them to use a shotgun when they have never even held them before."

"Good point," Allison granted, as she hadn't thought about it like that.

Even if she didn't use firearms on a regular basis, she had been taught how to handle them and she sometimes forgot that the others hadn't. She finally gave up and let the choosing of the weapons to her father, while she concentrated on the ammo they would need and began taking the boxes out of the armories.

Eventually, they decided they had all they needed and began charging their SUV with their arsenal, making sure not to be seen by any of the neighbor, as the last thing they needed was anyone reporting to the Sheriff they seemed ready for a gunfight.

* * *

Stiles didn't have anything he needed to do at his house, as he had prepared for departure before coming to the meeting. He was already armed and had left the note that he was at Scott's. He decided to read some more before, coming back to a section that had interested him last night but hadn't had time to exercise.

It was another use for mountain ashes, that could help them mask their scent from wolves, making them unaware of the road they were taking. It wouldn't be enough to make them safe, as they would still be able to touch them, but it would give them a slight advantage. He could also use them on their feet and be able to quiet their approach.

* * *

Danny had gone back to his house, for a few hours, making sure to tell his parents he would spend the night at Scott's, asking permission but knowing it would be given anyway. He disappeared in his room for a while, using the excuse that he needed to pack an overnight bag.

He wanted to pack something he had been working on the last few weeks. He hadn't told the rest of the pack, because he wasn't sure it would work and he didn't want them to rely on something that may not be at their disposal in the end.

He had built mini GPS chips, enough for all of the pack members, which signals he had made sure to be able to be read by his Smartphone, where they position would be indicated on an online map. He could follow everyone's movements on his phone that way, at the condition that the GPS could function that deep in the forest, which was the part he was certain off. Of course, he had no way to get everyone the right application on their phone.

One of them would have to stay out of the operation, at a safe distance, and monitor all of them, giving them the information on the talkie walkie. He just hoped they would be able to use them. He knew he hadn't been able to contribute much since his finding the information on the alphas and he hoped he would be able to now.

* * *

Jackson, Lydia and Isaac didn't have anything to do as they waited for the time of the meeting. They had made all the preparation they could and were ready to go. They were just hanging out together, and trying to pretend nothing was wrong, that tonight was just another night, like any other. It wasn't really working at all, but there was nothing else they could do.

Derek stood in front of his house, pacing, waiting for the rest of the pack to show up. He had gotten out of the house, because he had actually managed to annoy Stiles, which was something that took skills but he was extremely nervous.

He knew that, should they mess up tonight, his life would be forfeit and Boyd and Erica wouldn't probably survive either. Still, he had faith in his people. They were ready and they had worked well together, up to now. He just hoped it would continue long enough.

He was startled out of his musing when he heard tires approaching, belonging to different cars, and he knew it was the time. He saw Stiles get out of the house at the same moment, having probably seen it was coming seven and approach him, waiting for the others to arrive.

One by one, they arrived and parked their cars in front of the house. Both Danny and Stiles took the time to expose the ideas they had kept to themselves up to now. All of the pack approved and Stiles' magic was done pretty quickly, as it was one of the easier uses of the mountain ash, apparently.

Danny gave everyone a GPS chip, that they hid at the bottom of their pant pocket, as it would be the place they risked the less to lose them. They all decided that Lydia would be the one monitoring them from a safe distance, as her abilities were more theoretical than in fighting.

They took the decision to use two cars, Stiles' jeep and the Argent's SUV, as they would be the most useful, transporting people, especially if they were wounded. Derek's Camaro, while very cool, just wasn't what they would need.

The drive was quick and silent as none of them felt up to talking. They stopped the cars just after they crossed the territory line. Without being limited by the idea not to break the boundaries, Derek was able to pinpoint Boyd and Erica's location way much more efficiently and they decided to set camp, sort of, at a safe distance. They were pretty sure the alphas would have already heard them coming, but there was still a chance it wasn't the case and better safe than sorry.

They all got out and turned to Derek, waiting for his instructions as, from then on, they would have to show more deference to their alpha that they normally did, in a way that the alphas judging them would appreciate.

"Are the chips working?" he asked Danny, wanting to know whether or not they would be able to use them.

Danny took one look at his cell phone and smiled in relief as he saw the red dots blipping all at the same place on the map, where they were standing. Apparently, he had succeeded and he nodded at Derek, showing him the phone before handing it to Lydia, as per their earlier decision.

It was decided that they young woman would stay near the cars and she was handed of the talkie walkie, as well as the phone. She took both of them with a determined look, taking her role seriously, and more than ready to direct everyone from here.

"We should make a mountain ash circle around you and the cars," Stiles said, not wanting her to stay alone without any protection, in case someone tried to get to her while they were on their mission.

It probably wouldn't be a good point for them in their assessment if they decided to leave one of their human members without any protection and lost her.

"Good idea," Derek approved, and Stiles began making the circle while Chris and Allison discharged the trunk of their car, handing weapons and ammunitions to all human pack members.

Lydia was given two guns, just for the off-change something happened with the first, and a box of wolfsbane bullet. If one of the werewolf tried to get to her, they would find themselves unable to approach her but, at least, with ammunition, she wouldn't be trapped completely, instead being able to make them back off. At least, they hoped so.

"What do we do, now?" Scott asked, holding tight to Allison's hand, the one who wasn't occupied with her crossbow.

"For the moment, two groups," Derek said, taking charge. "We will separate to cover more ground later, when we get closer to the destination. Hunter traps will probably be at some distance from the detainment place, it would be better if we were with Allison and Chris at the moment we crossed them."

Both hunters nodded, as it was a fairly correct assumption to make. They would be able to spot the kind of traps they usually used and avoid them. They would also report them to Lydia, so that the other group would know everything. All the talkie walkie were on a frequency that could reach the young woman's own radio, but they may have some trouble joining one another so they would use her as a relay.

They finally decided on Derek, Allison, Isaac and Danny in one group, Scott, Chris, Jackson and Stiles in the others. Each group decided to approach from one side but, for now, they were keeping radio silence as they wanted to be the more discreet possible, even if they knew their arrival would probably have been spotted.

It didn't take very long for Allison to stumble on a bear trap, hidden beneath some fallen leaves, something that she had learnt was a very common ruse the hunters used when they weren't sure about the exact position the pack was dwelling. By putting a batch of them in a large zone, they would ensure being able to catch at least one of them and, even if their prey was able to get away, the fact that the trap had been activated, bloody but empty, showed them that it had been a werewolf and not just another animal.

She radioed Lydia to tell her about it and asked her to pass on the message to the others, as it was the kind of trap that usually came in group and in a large circle. Lydia passed on the information and Chris was able to spot another one not far from their location. It had apparently been the first layer of protection.

In his group, Scott was the point man, walking in front of the other, as it was a better job for a werewolf. He was advancing pretty quickly, but still at a pace the human could follow, until his jog was brutally interrupted when he crashed against some invisible wall. He yelped but was, thankfully, unhurt. He had almost bounced against it and Stiles looked at the ground, noticing the mountain ash barrier almost immediately.

"I thought they had said Kali wouldn't use her magic during the assessment?" he asked because that wasn't fair of them to lie.

He wouldn't be able to do much against such an experienced magic user and, if he had known he would find himself going against her, he would have made sure to learn way more than he already had to have more tools at his disposition.

"It's probably just the mountain ash," Chris reassured. "It would allow them to make sure humans participated in the task, as they would be the only ones capable of breaking the barrier and it's a good way to make sure we, at least, known a minimum about magic if we can recognize it. I doubt she's going to use any real spell."

Stiles nodded, as it appeared to be a pretty reasonable explanation, and then used his own foot to break the line. Scott attempted to walk through it once again and was able to without any problems. They all looked at each other and decided to go on, not without Stiles calling Lydia to tell her what had just happened, and that the others would probably find themselves in front of the same obstacle as it was supposed to be a closed circle.

"Danny," Lydia contacted on the talkie walkie.

"Yeah?" he answered and the whole group stopped, wanting to make sure not to be running straight into a trap.

"There should be a mountain ash barrier someplace in front of you. You or Allison will have to break it. Just use your feet to cut through the line, okay?"

"Got it," he assured and they all went back to their task, reassured that nothing bad was happening.

The second layer of protection had been crossed and there was still no sign of the alphas showing up to slow them down. It did see they were keeping their part of the bargain, the whole thing being more about their ability to come together as a pack than to really fight and Stiles was beginning to think there wouldn't be much of a physical fight against them. They would probably not ever need their weapons.

His musing was interrupted by Lydia, who was reporting a message from Derek.

"You all need to split up in group of two, now," she said and they all knew the orders were from their alpha.

They all responded with an okay and separated, each group composed of one human and one wolf together, as it would be more efficient should mountain ash be used again. It didn't seem likely, as there was no real challenge in using the same obstacle twice, but better safe than sorry.

Suddenly Stiles saw Scott stop dead in his track and his ears perk up as if he was listening to something.

"Scott?" he asked with a bit of uncertainty in his voice.

"I'm hearing growls and it's not coming from one of us," he said and Stiles decided he may have been a bit too hasty in his deductions and took one gun in his hand, ready to use it.

Not even thirty seconds later, they were being attacked. Scott got in the way, protecting Stiles from the beast, colliding with it midair and Stiles realized it wasn't one of the alphas. As Scott got back on his feet, at the same time as his enemy, readying himself for another attack, Stiles fired his gun, hitting his target in the head and the wolf collapsed on the forest ground with a thud.

Scott, half-transformed, ran to the fallen body and told Stiles what he had already worked out for himself, that it wasn't one of the alphas. Actually, the wolf didn't seem in very good shape at all, and not just because of what had just happened. Stiles felt bile rise up his throat.

"Omegas," he said to Scott. "There are using packless wolves to attack us."

Scott almost whimpered because, was that what would happen to them if the alphas decided they had failed? Would they be reduced to mindless slave once Derek was dead? He shook his head because it really wasn't the moment to think about anything like that and kept an ear out, making sure he would hear if there was another beast ready to attack them.

Stiles, for his part, contacted Lydia immediately, telling her about what had happened and asking her to make sure all the others had ample warning. The young woman didn't waste any time, which thankfully allowed all the others to be ready for the attacks as it seemed the alphas were determined to make sure all of them were capable of defending themselves. All the groups were attacked.

"They are watching us, aren't they?" Allison asked Isaac, who just nodded, because it seemed pretty much a given considering how well the omegas were targeting them.

They should have been running around, attracted by any of the squeamish, some of them attacking the same group, while other groups should have been spared but, no, their attack were almost equal in numbers, almost as if they were being directed.

They all arrived to an abandoned complex, where they were all sure Erica and Boyd were, even though they couldn't see or hear anything from inside, even the wolves. The alphas must have done something to the house, but Stiles wasn't sure what it was. The complex was big enough that they couldn't have any visual on each other but Lydia told them they were all standing in a circle, according to the dots she could see.

The young woman relied Derek's orders, which were to circle to their right until they found an entrance and they all did, making sure to be on their guard.

"Hum… Lydia, can you tell Danny he needs to come to where I am?" Jackson asked, looking sideway to Chris who nodded at him, as he too knew they needed the hacker.

"Why?" the young woman asked.

"Security measure," Chris answered for Jackson. "We need his abilities to get in, unless we can guess the right code."

"Okay, I'll get him to you."

When Danny, and Derek who was with him, got to them, the hacker directly went to the system to examine it. The three others gave him a wide berth as to not bother him while he was working. It was not doing anything good to their nerves to wait but they didn't really have a choice.

Derek's talkie walkie chimed up again, with Lydia telling him none of the others found another entrance and there were no window. Derek gave the order for all the others to come to them so they would get in without problem, all at the same time. They didn't know what would be waiting for them inside, but they would face it together.

It took Danny a while, but the system was not all that complicated so he was able to bypass the code without too much problems. There was a click, indicating they would be able to get in and Derek took point, as he wanted to be the first once inside and Chris was just behind him, ready with a gun.

Derek's eyes had no problem seeing inside, even in the dark like they were, and he saw Boyd and Erica in their cage. They seemed extremely dehydrated and emaciated but otherwise uninjured. A growl began in his throat but he swallowed it as it could have been worse, he knew. The give alphas were inside, but didn't seem to be on the point attacking. It didn't prevent Chris and Allison who had come up behind to hold their weapons, ready to fire.

Deucalion lifted his hand in sign of peace, indicating he wouldn't be doing anything and Kali smiled a very warm smile.

"Congratulation," Deucalion greeted them and Stiles' jaw may have dropped becase that couldn't be it?

Derek went in, liberating the door and permitting the whole pack to follow in and Ennis turned on the light, so the humans would be able to see as well as the others. They had been expecting more of a fight and they were still on their guard.

"You've passed," the leader of the alphas continued.

"That was it?" Derek said because he was fairly sure it would have been more difficult. "How can you be sure we have learnt all we have?"

Deucalion made a sign to the twins and Aiden turned a monitor towards them, where they could see not only the place Lydia was at but also most of the place the traps they had found were placed, the circle of mountain ash and where they had been attacked by the omegas.

"You've watched us all along," Stiles deduced.

Deucalion nodded but it as Kali who took over.

"We have been able to see how you have worked together. You've put your trust in each other, relied on each other for everything and learnt the strength and skills each of you could provide. You've learnt the pack hierarchy, deferring to Derek, but without fearing him and this is a good things. You've made the choice to leave Melissa McCall behind, which was the best call you could make and her skills will be needed for these two. We haven't hurt them but… they haven't been cared for. We couldn't do that, not as they are part of another pack. Do not worry, though, they will recover."

Derek wanted nothing more than tear their throat out for that, Stiles knew, but he would contain his rage as it was the only way for them to make it out. Attacking them right now would be a mistake.

"Can I go to them?" he asked as politely as he could and Deucalion nodded his agreement.

It didn't take more than two seconds for Derek to tear the cage door out, as his strength was greater than the two betas. Erica didn't move, as she was unconscious but Boyd was able to open his eyes and look at their alpha.

"You're going home," he said.

They all listened to them and Scott, Jackson and Isaac went to help him get them out, as they needed help to walk or be carried, in Erica's case. Stiles was talking to Lydia on the talkie walkie, telling her all about what just happened, knowing she must have been worried.

Derek looked one last time at the alphas and they all nodded. Derek turned to the rest of his pack and gave the order to go home. It was over. They needed to get the two betas to Melissa and Deaton but now, they were safe. They had passed the test.


	14. Epilogue

**Note: This is the end of part two. I've already my plan ready for part three, but I haven't begun writing it just yet and, as I've got more to do recently outside of writing, it may takes some time before it's ready to be posted. I'll try to have it ready for the beginning of July, but I can make no promise. **

Epilogue

Derek's Camaro came to a halt at the side of the road, in the middle of a very nice neighborhood. He killed the engine and looked at the passenger side, where Erica was sitting nervously, all trace of the wounds which had littered her body and face having disappeared. She was looking down at her laps, her hands entwined, restless.

"Erica?" Derek called, side-glancing behind as Boyd stayed silent, waiting for his turn in the backseat.

The young woman gave a watery sigh and looked up, out of the window at the house on the other side of the road. She had never really thought she would get to see this place again. First, when she and Boyd had run away, they had never thought about returning and then, they were at the mercy of the alphas pack and never really thought they would get out of there alive.

However, their pack had come through for them, even after they abandoned them. They saved them and Derek nursed them back to health, making sure they were fine, all the others ready to help and, now, there she was, safe and sound and ready to go home, finally.

She was scared, though. What were her parents going to say? What could she tell them to explain her choice to run away from them, without even a word or a note, what she had been through, why she had suddenly decided to come back? She wouldn't be able to explain everything, even though Derek had given the permission to talk about the werewolf part, she didn't want them to know. They would never understand her choice, never understand that they had never been able to help her with her seizures and someone else would have.

It was better for them to believe it was a miracle and leave it at that, even if she didn't especially like lying to them.

"I'm ready," she said decidedly, looking at her alpha, bathing in his strength in a way she had never been able to before.

"We're staying until we know it's going to be okay," Derek still told her, as he refused to leave before he saw how her parents would react.

She nodded her thanks and turned around first. Boyd caught her hand and squeezed it, attracting her to him and kissing her, trying to give all his love to her before letting her go and she opened the door, getting out and running across the road and up the stairs to the porch.

Derek and Boyd watched her as she knocked, understanding it would shock her parents too much if she were to just come in. They looked on as her mother opened the door and was shocked still, before calling out to her husband, their developed hearing letting them hear her as if she was standing right next to them. Mrs. Reyes threw her arms around Erica's neck and the teenager returned the embrace and then they were both in the arms of Mr. Reyes and Derek looked at Boyd, before the young man nodded, indicating to Derek he was ready to have his turn.

* * *

Scott, Jackson, Isaac and Danny were on the lacrosse field, thankfully open during the summer vacation unlike the rest of the school. They were training, for the very first time since the end of the school year, as Lydia watched on, amused by their antics.

She usually didn't like watching practice, unlike the game where she could acclaim her boyfriend, but after all the research she had done during the last few weeks, she enjoyed being able to kick back and relax, watching the boys exert themselves.

Poor Danny was being pelted by balls, as it was mostly difficult to catch what werewolves threw at him. Fortunately, he would never have to during a match, because if that was the case, he would probably be kicked out of the team as he was almost never able to protect the goal.

"This is cheating!" he yelled at them as he was, once again, unable to catch Isaac's throw.

The young werewolf only laughed at him and Danny shook his head, unable to actually be mad at any of them for that. He most certainly knew what he was getting into when he agreed to the training session.

The three werewolves were making clowns of themselves, especially Jackson who paraded for Lydia. Danny was glad to see the young strawberry-blond giggling on the bench as he did. It was good to see her not so serious for once, at least where the pack was concerned.

* * *

In the Argent living room, Stiles and Allison were stretched on their belly on the floor as they watched intently Chris and the photo albums in front of him. He was sitting cross-legged a few feet away from them, looking at the picture as he talked to the teenager, regaling them with stories corresponding to the memento he had found, in a place he had hidden them so very long ago that his father, luckily, had never found.

They were a lot of pictures of the Hale in it, as he had apparently spent quite a lot of time with them, even though it was Peter who was preeminently featuring. Stiles had already asked Chris if he could make copy of some, to give them to Derek as all the photographs present in the house at the moment of the fire had burnt and there was nothing left for him to remember his family by. He had, of course, agreed and this was why Allison and the other teenager had been able to convince Chris to tell them all about his teenage years.

Allison couldn't stop laughing because she had just never imagined the things her dad had done when he was her age – and she was never again letting it go when he was trying to reason with her because he had been way worse than she ever was – and Stiles enjoyed it very much also.

He was mostly glad to be included in what should have been a very moment, but Chris and then Allison had both insisted he stayed with them to listen. He hadn't tried to change their mind too hard because he actually wanted to be there. He was happier than he had been in quite some time right now.

* * *

Melissa stopped her car in the driveway and killed the engine. She hesitated for a while before taking a deep breath and getting out. She wasn't sure if he was doing the right things but she knew she had to shake the status quo. It was not possible to go on like this. Keeping such a secret wasn't a good thing and, well, she would deal with the repercussions as they came. She knew she had to do it.

Bracing herself, she jobbed the few steps up and rang the bell. She didn't have to wait very long until the door swung open.

The Sheriff looked at her with a warm smile, a bit surprised by her presence as she hadn't warned him she was coming, but he opened his door to her and let her in, a frown coming on his face when he saw her nervousness.

* * *

Black and white pictures were pinned all over the wall. All of them candid shots, as the people featured seemed unaware of the photographers. The majority of them starred Allison and Chris Argent, around various other pack members, showing their familiarity with them and a gloved hand caught one of them and tore it away from the wall, watching intently as both father and daughter were smiling, caught in the middle of the pack.

"What are we going to do?" a voice asked in the background and the man, who seemed to be the boss, threw the picture on the table, where all kind of weapons were lying.

"We're going to make sure no other hunter ever get the idea of making friends with our enemies," he said, hate clear in his every word.


End file.
